Chapter 53: Insecurity

Jiazin sat quietly at the council table, glancing towards the ends where the rebel leaders and the Imperial Army officers sat. The tension in the room was palpable- it was clear that Chaiy hadn't forgiven Xia whatsoever for his years of service to the Fire Empire, and had only reluctantly consented to allow him into the city with only his second-in-command and a small group of guards. Xia for his part seemed rather nervous to be sitting in a rebel-controlled palace, though he was doing his best not to show it. Still, both sides recognized that the danger that faced them now was greater by far than their enmity for each other.

"So," Chaiy finally asked, "do you have any idea what Azula's immediate plans are? I doubt she'll be happy when she finds out you've turned on her."

Xia spread his hands. "Unfortunately, Azula is very difficult to predict. I don't believe there's anyone alive, except perhaps for the Chosen's Mistress who truly knows her mind, though I can't say how much the High Minister has guessed. I can guess, however, that whatever she does, it will be soon. Between your rebellion and my… defection, I believe we will force her hand. It seems likely that she will strike here, where her most dangerous enemies are gathered- doing anything else would arouse suspicion. But there is no guarantee."

"If Azula makes her move elsewhere, then our forces will be kept ready to respond as quickly as possible, to contain it," Xia's second-in-command, Commander Zhang, added. "I would recommend you keep your forces in similar alert."

"I don't take orders from Imperial officers," Chaiy snapped, "but in this case, I think your advice is sound."

Jiazin's father cleared his throat from where he sat beside the rebel leader- Jiazin still didn't know the full story, but she'd gathered he'd allied with the rebels out of convenience and the need to avoid chaos, rather than conviction. This didn't surprise her, though it was rather disappointing. Whatever had happened to him, he still seemed the man who had been so heavily involved in the Empire's atrocities at heart. "What I don't understand," he said, "is how Azula managed to keep her plans secret from us for so long. Surely the inner circle at least would have realized something was wrong?"

Xia looked uncomfortable. "The inner circle was… misled, Yan Li," he said quietly. "If you wish to know more, ask your daughter."

"What?" Father turned to face Jiazin, expression at once cold and disbelieving. "I don't understand- Jiazin, what is the High General talking about? Explain yourself!" Despite all that had passed, he fell easily into the role of the stern, disappointed father again, and Jiazin felt like she had as a child caught in some small wrongdoing. But this was more than that on every level, and they both knew it.

Chaiy froze. "Yes," she said slowly. "I'd like an explanation as well." At her side, Tong looked at Jiazin questioningly, but didn't speak- the quiet earthbender seemed to be waiting for the explanation himself before he passed judgment.

"Jiazin?" Kanoda asked quietly from where he sat at her side. Somehow his question seemed the most accusing of all. Jiazin felt like an actress who had been shoved onto stage despite the fact she didn't know any of her lines; all eyes seemed to be on her, and she didn't know what to say. Finally she drew a deep breath and spoke.

"A few months ago now," she said, "High Minister Qing Xi came here and brought me to the Capital, only saying that he wanted me for some secret purpose. When we arrived, I was told that the Empress was old and would soon die, and she had failed to find true immortality, so she needed another way. She needed someone to assume her identity and rule as her after she died, so that the Dragon Empress would appear immortal." Jiazin's voice dropped to a whisper. "The person the High Minister had selected was me. He'd searched through all the noble-born girls of my age in the Empire, and had decided I was the best choice to walk in Azula's footsteps."

Dead silence fell around the table, until finally Jiazin continued. "I was honored at first, until I began to learn things about the history of the Empire, and all the terrible things the Empress had done. I think Qing Xi meant for me to find out, though I don't know why. That's when I ran, and decided to change things. I fell in with the rebellion, and after I killed Gian, well- I didn't have anywhere else to go."

Kanoda, Tong, and Chaiy were simply staring at Jiazin, though Father was stroking his beard and nodding to himself as though he'd suddenly found a puzzle piece he'd been missing and now everything was starting to make sense. Finally, Xia spoke. "It seems obvious now that Jiazin was always a decoy- something to keep Qing Xi, myself, and the other high officers busy while Azula and her Chosen hatched her mad plan under our noses." He looked at Jiazin with an expression in his eyes that was almost pity. "Don't be too hard on yourself, girl. You are not the first to have been tricked by Azula and Qing Xi. They never really intended you to become… her."

"I understand now that Azula didn't," Jiazin said, "but it doesn't sound like Qing Xi was in on the plan. He really saw her in me, and now that I know what she is, that scares me more than you can imagine. And there's more –some of you already know this. So far as I know, there are only two people on the planet who can create blue fire. Azula is one of them." She held out a hand, palm up, and formed a small flame in it. Jiazin turned all of her will on the tiny fire, and after a moment, its color shifted. "I'm the other."

The room was quiet again for several moments, until Jiazin felt a hand on her arm and turned to see Kanoda. "Xia's right," he told her. "Don't be hard on yourself. I've never met Azula- thank the spirits for that!- but I know you. You put your life on the line at the citadel, and helped us save the spirits at the North Pole. You may think you're like her, but you're not. You're a good person."

"People can rise above their pasts- I know that," Tong said. "Just because somebody tells you that you're something, it doesn't mean that's what you have to be."

"You know I don't trust you nobles," Chaiy said, "but if what's coming is as serious as I think it's going to be, I don't think I can afford to throw an asset like you away." She looked at Jiazin head on, eyes cold. "The Fire Empire used you, tried to mold you into someone else, and made you a part of their crazy Empress's plan to destroy us all. Are you going to let that pass?"

"No," Jiazin said, surprising herself with the intensity in her voice. "Whatever I might have been, I will never stand with the Fire Empire again after all it's done. The world does need peace and order, but not that kind. I will help you bring the Empire down so that something better can be made. I will fight."

Xia glanced at Zhang and then looked down the table. "Good," he said. "Now, Azula is as cunning as she is insane, but we need to outguess her. Let's talk strategy."

/

After the meeting was over, Jiazin walked down the palace corridors alone. The strategy discussion had, in her opinion, produced nothing valuable in the long run- they simply didn't know enough about Azula's long-term plans to effectively deal with them. That she planned to unleash a war the likes of which the world had never seen was evident, but how and when she intended to start it remained a mystery.

"Jiazin, wait!" a voice called from behind her, and she turned to see her father coming towards her. "Let me walk with you."

"As you wish, Father," she said, her voice stiff and formal. "I suppose you want to talk with me about how the High Minister's plans for me might bring honor and prestige to the family?" She imbued the last words with ice.

Father put his hand on her shoulder, and for a moment his coolly competent mask cracked and she saw a sad, rather scared man beneath. "Oh, Jiazin," he breathed. "You must think I'm a monster now, don't you? I never wanted that. I only wanted to create a stable city, a stable Empire, that could be passed down with pride to future generations- to you."

"I don't think you're a monster," Jiazin replied, "but I can't forgive the things you've done, and helped do. You supported Azula's reign for years, and you heard in there what she plans to do. Everyone knew she was mad, but you all still served her without protest." Her voice dropped. "How can you live with that knowledge?"

"I used to be able to," Father said softly. "I told myself that I was working for the greater good, and that made everything right somehow. But I can't tell myself that anymore. There is no good in what Azula is doing, not even for herself." He drew a deep breath before continuing. "I know I haven't been a very good father for you. I threw the opportunity to be one away while working to uphold a madwoman's rule. Now I don't think any of us have much time left- I think Azula will outmaneuver us all, and we will all die soon- but you fought when I stayed silent and did nothing. You have courage and conviction, Jiazin, and I admire you for that." He lowered his voice so that it was barely more than a whisper. "No matter what happens, I am proud to be your father."

Then he withdrew his hand and was gone in a swirl of robes, leaving Jiazin once more in the corridor alone.

/

Shiyan walked slowly and kept her head bowed, both as part of her disguise and so she could watch her feet and therefore avoid tripping on the servant's robe she wore. How so many people could go about in the things every day was beyond her, but fortunately she would be spared the need to find out. This was a simple operation- get into the palace, rescue Cheng, and get out so they could plan their next move.

Tracking the younger Chosen down had been surprisingly easy. The city was full of rumors about what exactly had happened in the palace during the rebel takeover, and most of them agreed that a rebel leader had been assassinated immediately after the battle by a girl in Chosen armor. Some said she'd been killed, but most maintained she had merely been imprisoned in the palace dungeons. Shiyan had waited until nightfall outside the great building, quietly killing a servant girl and stealing her uniform. When it was dark, she simply walked inside with a clear objective in mind- if Cheng was alive, rescue her. If she was dead, her death wouldn't go unavenged. No one, not rebel warlords or even high nobility, killed a Chosen and escaped with their life.

Shiyan approached the dungeon slowly, pausing just outside the guardroom. Three rebels sat there, two playing pai sho and the other idly watching. After a moment, Shiyan slipped inside.

The guards stood up immediately, going for their weapons. "No one's allowed down here without express permission from Chaiy," their leader said. "Unless you've got a note from her, turn around and go back upstairs."

"I have all the authorization I need right here," Shiyan said softly, and then drew her sword fluidly from beneath her robes. The guards stared for a moment and then charged, weapons raised. The Chosen brought her blade up to meet them, and for several furious minutes all was chaos. Finally, Shiyan stepped idly over the body of the last guard- wounded to unconsciousness or dead, she didn't know or care- and made her way into the dungeons.

She passed by several cells whose occupants looked to be no more than common ruffians- some begged or shouted at her, but many simply shrunk back from the hard eyed girl with the bloodstained sword. Finally, at the end of the corridor and away from the other cells, she found a young prisoner in an oversized uniform; it took her a minute to recognize that this was Cheng without her facepaint; Shiyan had seen her bare face before, of course, but imagining any Chosen – even a hapless, half-trained initiate – in anything but full uniform went against her instincts.

"Shiyan!" the younger girl shouted, standing up. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving you, sister," Shiyan said. Pulling the ring of keys she'd taken from one of the guards from her belt, she tried one after the other until finally she found the one that opened the lock. The cell door sprang open. "Now, come," she said. "We need to get out of here. Then we'll find a way to deal with the rebels- and with High General Xia. He's a traitor."

"Shiyan," Cheng said slowly, "thanks for getting me out of that cell, but… I'm not going to help you fight, at least not for a while. I don't think I can."

Shiyan stopped dead and turned slowly around, not believing what she was hearing. "What?" she asked quietly. "Has this whole world gone insane? The rebels locked you up in a tiny cell- don't tell me you've turned to their side too?"

"No!" Cheng said quickly. "It's not like that- I'm not going to fight for them either. It's just that being locked up gave me time to really think, and now I'm just confused. The man I killed, he had a daughter, and she wanted to kill me too. Not because he had been a valuable leader, but because he was her father and she loved him. But there was an earthbender who talked her out of it, and he said later that he'd been a slave, and the Chosen were just slaves too. And what he said made sense, and I didn't want it too. And I've never loved anyone enough to be so sad and angry when they died- I mean, I loved the Empress, but I've never met her, and she never really seemed real, more like an idea. I'm thirteen years old and I've never had a friend, just loyalty and discipline all the time! None of the Chosen I've met ever cared for anyone like she did, or would have shown mercy to an enemy like he did. I thought I was right and we had all the answers, but now I'm just so confused, and… I just need time to think."

Shiyan tried to speak, but no words came from her mouth, only muffled choking sounds. This wasn't right, this wasn't how it was supposed to be, and rage began to course through her body. The world was supposed to be simple- the Empress had enemies, and the Chosen killed them. That was all there could be to life, because otherwise, everything Shiyan had ever been was a lie. But if the world didn't make sense, then she would make it. Slowly, almost of its own will, her arm began to raise her sword.

"So is that it, Shiyan?" Cheng asked, backing away slowly, eyes wide with terror. "I ask questions, so you're going to kill me? I used to look up to you, and resent you, and want to be you all at once –did you know that? We called each other 'sister'. Are you going to kill your sister?"

The older Chosen's had trembled, and she regarded her younger companion's terrified face for what felt like an eternity. Finally, with a disgusted growl she shoved her sword back into its sheath. Turning, Shiyan began to stalk up the corridor, a face burning in her mind- the face of the rebel girl she'd seem by the docks. Cheng was just a victim of the rebels' madness; killing her would fix nothing. She needed to take her fight to the heart of the problem.

"Shiyan?" Cheng called from behind her. "Where are you going?"

"To do what you didn't have the courage to do," Shiyan hissed.

/

Well, I'm back after an unintended leave of absence! This time I hope to get the entire round of final chapters (six after this, counting the epilogue) completed in one go.

Jiazin and Shiyan are the main focuses of this chapter. Jiazin still fears who she is, the powers that she wields, and what QX wanted her to become, but she also has something to help her bear those burdens – friends. Kanoda most obviously, but also Tong and Chaiy, are willing to stand by her, and while their faith in her certainly isn't enough to dispel all her fears, it helps give her the strength to keep going in the face of what's coming.

Shiyan, on the other hand, is confronted with her fellow Chosen's loss of faith, and she can't deal with it – her Chosen's training is Shiyan's entire identity, and it never equipped her to handle this situation. Would she have killed Cheng? Probably not – Shiyan does have feelings, as buried and stunted as they are, and she does truly consider her fellow Chosen to be her sisters. Unless Cheng had actually committed treason (in which case Shiyan's duty would have been to kill her – the Chosen police their own) I don't think she could have brought herself to go through with it. That said, violence is really the only outlet Shiyan knows for emotional turmoil, and now she's looking for a target. Her mind has almost reached its breaking point, and cracks are showing –but that just makes her in some ways more dangerous.

-MasterGhandalf