The windows showed Admiral Liang's office superimposed over the view of the busy street below. Zuko studied the reflected image, taking in the meticulously sorted piles of paper, which seemed even taller than on his last visit. Wave of guilt filled him at keeping the admiral from his regular duties with this attempted assassination business. Not that Zuko didn't take the attack seriously, or thought it should be considered a closed matter because the assailants were dead by their own hands. Or teeth, as it were. But what more could they do? They had exhausted every lead.
His mind was worn down by the constant disappointment. And it wasn't only mental fatigue weighing on him. Li and Lo insisted he practice firebending under their tutelage every morning and they were fierce taskmasters. His entire body ached from their lessons.
Admiral Liang looked nearly as tired as Zuko felt. His cropped brown hair stood on end where he'd run his fingers through it repeatedly while briefing Zuko on the additional security measures he had implemented at the palace.
"Thank you, Admiral. I know this is beyond your usual duties and I appreciate you helping the regular palace staff improve our safety protocols." Zuko told the other man.
Zuko's abandoned cup of tea sat cold and half-empty on the corner of the large desk. He picked it up and swirled the remaining liquid, eying it with distaste. Uncle Iroh should give the admiral some lessons in making tea. He grimaced as he imagined his uncle's reaction to the bitter brew in the cup he held.
"It is an honor to help you, Fire Lord Zuko." Admiral Liang replied.
"Please, just call me Zuko." Zuko hated his father's insistence on rigid formality and adherence to rank. He hoped that the people who helped him administer the nation would feel much more at ease with him. He wanted to work with people who respected him rather than feared him. In his mind, the more he could distance himself from his father, the better. He hadn't challenged anyone to an agni kai in almost two weeks, so he figured he had made a good start.
Admiral Liang smiled. "Then you must call me Shiro. Now, I know you did not come here to be inundated with information about these security measures. You said you had a new task for me?"
"Yes! I mean, the security details are interesting, too. But I came here to ask you to prepare an airship for Chief Hakoda to take to the Northern Water Tribe. He plans to leave tomorrow morning to bring the peace treaty to Chief Arnook and try to convince him to sign on."
"I think there's time to arrange that" Shiro began, then paused and scribbled something on a stray bit of paper held down by his own cold cup of tea. "Yes, we should have enough supplies ready to hand for such a journey. The airship can be prepared by mid-morning, at the latest." He stood as he concluded "Please excuse me, I'll need to begin the arrangements immediately."
Zuko sat bemused as he watched the man's intense focus shift from security concerns to this new assignment. The way Shiro worked intrigued him. Every shift of priority or dawning understanding showed clearly on his face. It wasn't exactly what Zuko had expected from his de facto spymaster.
Shiro halted on his way to exit the room. "Sorry. Sometimes I run with a new assignment before all the particulars have been presented. Was there something more?"
Zuko smiled and shook his head. "No, I believe that's all I need for now. Thank you, again, for reworking the guard rotations and schedules."
Shiro simply nodded distractedly and left without another word. Zuko shook his head and laughed a little. Then he stood and left the office. Outside the door two Kyoshi Warriors fell into step beside him. Thus he found himself walking toward the palace flanked by two women whose names he couldn't recall. Their face paint rendered them nearly identical, but Zuko promised himself to work harder at memorizing their distinguishing characteristics. These women were an important part of the bulwark against further attempts on his life. Though they were being paid well for their services, Zuko wanted to acknowledge and appreciate them personally. Somehow Sokka could always recognize which woman was which. Zuko made a mental note to ask him how he did it.
People on the street stopped and stared, then dropped into hasty bows as the Fire Lord and his guards strode past. The leader of the Fire Nation did not simply walk through its capital city! Zuko caught a few pleased smiles sprinkled among the looks of shocked disapproval. He deliberately returned those smiles, adding brief nods. Some of his people were ready for the changes he planned. He deliberately didn't think about the ones who looked angry. If seeing the Fire Lord walking rather than riding in a palanquin shocked them, he thought sardonically, they should brace themselves.
It was a surprise when Mai met them inside the palace gates, her face slightly twisted in annoyance. Zuko stared. Even at her most irritated he counted her the loveliest girl he'd ever seen, but he felt a frisson of unease at her countenance.
"Zuko, what have you done?" she hissed as she grabbed his arm, jerking him to a halt. She glared at his bodyguards "Leave us alone. I'm not going to kill him." She cut her eyes to Zuko and muttered "Probably."
At Zuko's nod, the two warriors moved away. They stopped a short distance away, just far enough that they wouldn't hear a normal conversation.
"Why is my father saying he has a meeting with you?" Mai demanded. "I told you to let me handle him."
"I know. I know. But I think I have a way to win him over."
Mai crossed her arms at her waist and quirked one eyebrow, wordlessly inviting Zuko to explain himself.
"Okay, hear me out. Your father dislikes me because I won't retake Omashu and make him Governor again, right?" Zuko waited for Mai's reluctant nod, then continued "It's the prestige and power of the situation he wants, though, not Omashu itself. So what if I offer him even more prestige and power in a different position?"
Zuko watched Mai's eyes narrow as she tried to work out what position he meant. Finally, she shrugged and freed one arm to gesture for him to continue. Then she tucked the hand back into the crook of her opposite elbow, the picture of depleted patience.
"I plan to ask him to be one of the two Fire Nation representatives to the Council of Nations." Zuko stated, watching nervously for Mai's reaction.
She looked thoughtful, then smiled slightly. "That might work" she admitted in a soft voice. "But, don't you think his priorities for the nation are too different from yours?"
Zuko replied with a wry twist of his mouth "No doubt they are. But the other representative will be someone who shares my beliefs about how we should operate in the world." At her questioning look, he clarified "Uncle Iroh. I hope, anyway. I haven't exactly asked him yet"
Mai's face relaxed by degrees as she considered this. She smirked "We might make a politician of you yet."
Zuko shuddered theatrically.
"Well, my appointment with your father isn't for another hour. Any ideas on what we can do in the meantime?" he asked in a husky voice as he pulled Mai closer.
Mai slid her arms around Zuko's waist and looked into his eyes. Her lips curved slightly as she responded "I'm sure we can think of something to occupy us."
Zuko made it to the meeting with Ukano a few minutes late. He and Mai walked arm in arm into the room to find her father pacing, booted heels making sharp percussive sounds against the polished stone floor. He glanced disdainfully at the couple when Zuko cleared his throat to announce their arrival.
Ukano appeared to struggle to keep his expression neutral. "Fire Lord Zuko. What is it you wish to discuss with me?"
Zuko took a deep breath. His entire future could hinge on this meeting. Ukano had outsized influence on the other nobles of Caldera City. And his recent stint as a colonial governor, despite its brevity, had extended his reach. Winning him over unequivocally could make the work ahead of Zuko much easier. He hoped he hadn't miscalculated. He looked into Mai's eyes and saw her faith in him though her face once again masked her emotions with a bored neutrality. She gave the slightest nod and he felt his tensed shoulders relax.
Zuko motioned Ukano toward a grouping of chairs in the center of the large salon. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, sir" he began.
Two hours later Zuko drooped in relief as soon as the door swung closed behind Ukano. While he hadn't anticipated the man would accept his offer without some negotiation, Ukano's zeal for bargaining left Zuko completely sapped. But he had secured Ukano's agreement. Mai's father would serve as one of the Fire Nation's delegates to the newly formed council. Before Ukano left, taking Mai with him, he had signed a contract. Zuko sincerely hoped the appointment would offer an acceptable salve for the loss of Omashu. And he'd just seen a virtuoso demonstration of Ukano's political prowess. Perhaps the benefit in the arrangement would not all be to Ukano.
Zuko gazed out the window and watched the sun slide down toward the distant sea. Momentarily, he tried to distract himself from the items on his mental agenda that he hadn't done today. Instead he redirected his thoughts to the hour he'd spent with Mai before they met with her father. He breathed deeply and could still detect a trace of her perfume lingering on his clothing. It suited her, sharp herbal notes with a hint of smoke and spice.
Ruefully, Zuko surfaced from his reverie and set himself to the necessary work.
He had just signed a letter to his uncle updating him on events in the capital when Katara stalked into the room. She deliberately closed the door firmly behind her and directed a fierce glare at him.
Before he could so much as blink, she flung a water whip toward him. When the stream of water reached him, it divided and separate tendrils froze his arms and feet in place. Zuko shivered and couldn't tell if it was caused by the icy chill coating his extremities or by the ferocity of her expression. He recalled their battle at the North Pole. She had defeated him handily and he didn't fool himself that the tide of the battle would have turned even with sunrise if he hadn't caught her unaware. She was one of the most talented benders he'd ever encountered. But she was also supposed to be his friend!
"What the hell, Katara!" Zuko yelled.
Though he wouldn't have thought it possible, Katara's fury seemed to increase. "What does Aang mean, you know how to contact him?" she growled.
"Huh?" was all Zuko could manage at this bewildering question.
"Aang wrote me" she choked out. "He said that you know how to contact him. And I can't see how that would be the case unless you knew he was leaving and made arrangements to keep in touch. Why? Why did you let him leave? Did you encourage him to leave? He wouldn't just leave me!" Her last word was garbled as a sob escaped.
Zuko watched in horrified fascination as the tears spilled over and Katara angrily dashed them away. She took in a few gasping breaths before redirecting her ire at him. "Well?" she ended ominously.
Zuko groaned. Maybe Katara and Aang had not broken up before Aang left. Was that why Aang went squirrely when Zuko stated his fear of Katara killing him while he slept? Was leaving Aang's way of breaking it off with her? Once again Zuko had cause to regret becoming entangled in other people's lives.
Zuko looked pleadingly toward Katara. "Yes, I knew he planned to leave, but only for a few hours before he did. He said a whole lot of stuff about his duty and his destiny. And, umm, about me convincing the rest of you to let him go." Zuko was beginning to feel unfairly judged and his voice rose "Katara, really, who am I to interfere when the freaking Avatar talks about duty and destiny? Was I supposed to stop him?"
"He asked you to convince me, I mean us, to let him go?" she asked in a small voice.
Some of Zuko's irritation with her drained away. "I'm sorry, Katara. He did."
He watched her face crumple. She flicked her hands to the side in tandem and the ice trapping him in place melted, leaving him soaked and surprisingly sympathetic. His compassion even extended to Aang despite the fact that the younger boy had put him in this situation. He was the one who bungled his break up even worse than Zuko had done when he left Mai. Zuko ardently wished Aang were the one sitting here watching Katara fight so hard not to cry.
"He said I could send a message to the Eastern Air Temple or ask you how to contact him. What did he mean?" she asked dully, wrapping her arms around herself.
Zuko explained about the paired messenger hawks.
"So, did he send any response after you told him about the assassination attempt?" Katara asked once he'd finished the explanation.
Told him about the assassination attempt?
Zuko smacked his hand against his forehead and swore bitterly.
A/N Is Zuko ever going to figure out that Aang and Katara weren't together? I don't know. I'm perhaps having too much fun with the gag. Updates will be a bit more sporadic as I have some life and work stuff going on that is sucking up much of my energy.
Wil02 Thank you! I first imagined this story as an entirely epistolary one, but my writing skills just weren't up to the task, so this is where we are. Letters tucked into narrative, moving the plot forward infinitesimally.
Wilson1144 I know! I'm feeling very bad for Zuko, too. Thank you for your kind words about writing taking as long as it takes.
Lalaanddiki Oh wow, thank you so much! I am trusting that continued practice will result in continued improvement. This is the third story I've written, and it's very encouraging to hear I'm getting better.
Hilmintonhamhigh Yeah, Hakoda is still having some trouble adjusting to how very much his daughter grew up in his absence. I know the show sort of resolved this, but I feel like it wouldn't really be put to bed so quickly.
Ashley Barbosa Thank you so much for sticking with me! Yeah, Zuko is kicking himself for not letting Aang know what happened. In his defense, it has been a pretty eventful week.
Monkeyfeathers Thank you so much. Look for a Hakoda redemption arc, coming soon. Okay, maybe not SOON, but as soon as I can manage
Aanglovergirl Thank you so much for following! Your "okay, deuces" comments made me laugh out loud!
DIO39 Aww, thanks!
Aangbanger Thank you so much. I am just filled with joy at everything you had to say. And so glad you liked the fire twins idea. It took me a long time to figure out why nonbenders would be coaching Azula!
TheRaccoon13 No, I haven't heard of that story. But if Katara really dates Zuko, I'd skip right over it anyway. Any actual Zutara is a hard stop for me. No judgment on anyone who likes it, but I know it's not for me. Suspected Zutara for dramatic purposes, obviously okay ;)
Anayeli12 I hope I delivered on the drama. More to follow, though the next chapter will be mostly happy stuff.
SovietWomble Thank you very much! I hope you continue to enjoy the story.
Kuzon. aang Thanks! I have no plans to stop. There are still parts of this story I'm super excited to write. Unfortunately I have to slog through some parts I'm not so crazy about first. But I will persevere.
Princess Cherry Whew! Glad you stuck with it long enough to have that relief!