Here is the 11th full chapter in Book 5, released on time as promised. This the second of the three chapter Zaofu arc that is the final bridge before the inevitable meeting that is coming and in this case it is a long conversation that address the past in a lot of ways. This is also the longest chapter to date in Duty and might actually be the longest of the entire Book though I can't guarantee that just yet. Anyway, that is all I have for now though and as there isn't anything to respond to that means that it time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the 11th full installment of Avatar: The Tale of Harry. Book 5: Duty.

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing related to these two great works of fiction.

Chapter 11

Sirius walked through the large garden that was to the rear of the Beifong Estate in Zaofu unsure of what to do for the time being. A few hours ago, the Avatar had finished his training and retired for the afternoon, as had Ron and Chief Dominique, so Sirius had returned to the work he'd been doing prior. He was done with that now though and had been dismissed to enjoy some rest before the evening's feast where his work would be presented to the correct parties, so he had the afternoon off.

The problem was that he was completely out of his depth here. He'd never been to Zaofu before and was now a guest of the ruling family thanks to the Avatar and the series of events that had led him to meeting his grandfather. As such, he didn't know what to do with himself.

"You look lost." A female voice called out to him snapping Sirius out of his thoughts and bringing his attention to the speaker who he hadn't seen as he walked.

Sirius turned and stopped as he noticed that he was near his first cousin once removed, if he recalled how the relation worked, which meant he was near the one person he was most nervous around. Lying on a deck chair in a spectacular dark blue bikini, sunglasses, her betrothal necklace at her throat, and covered in sun protection on her fair skin was Chief Dominique.

Sirius was sure that he shouldn't be staring at her, or even seeing the ruler of the Southern Water Tribe this way, but he couldn't help it, she'd caught him completely off guard as he'd been too lost in his thoughts to realize that she was there. It also didn't hurt that despite being in her early 50s she still had a great and toned body from her years as a warrior.

"Enjoying the view Sirius?" Dominique said simply turning her head to him but making no other moves. "This can't be the first time you've seen a woman in so little, can it?"

"What? Oh no, well you are still stunning your majesty, right up there with others I've seen, but I shouldn't be seeing someone of your status in this state of undress." Sirius babbled nervously turning and looking away. "Plus, you are technically family which I feel adds to it."

"That is true but that doesn't mean you can't appreciate the view." Dominique said with chuckle and Sirius was certain that she was messing with him. "But as you said, we are family, so it is ok for you to see me like this, especially as it is on private land like this and it's not like half the current Southern Army hasn't seen me naked thanks to training. We are a little laxer with nudity in the South compared to other nations."

"Yes, right, er, sorry your majesty." Sirius said still not looking.

"And drop the formalities shit." Dominique said with a sigh. "I hate it, so I only deal with it when I absolute have to, which is usually when I'm in the ISEK as they actually care about it here. If you insist on it, call me Chief as I am your Chief through your mother and half your father, making you nearly fully Southern Water Tribe despite your bending but you can just call me Dominique if you want."

"Chief will do, I am not ready to be so informal with you ma'am." Sirius said finally looking back to Dominique. "And I know that I am not the best person to be near you right now."

"And why do you say that?" Dominique asked. "Is it because I killed your mother during the Second Siege of the North, or the fact that your father was my best friend growing up. Or perhaps it's because I was in love with your father though that isn't common knowledge so keep it to yourself as I'd deny it if it ever got out to the wider public."

Sirius suddenly started spluttering at that and noticed that Dominique had raised her head and was smirking at his discomfort that her words had caused. She wasn't touching the ground so he couldn't truth see her though seeing as Sirius knew the first two parts to be true he doubted that the third wasn't true as well.

"What?" Sirius finally managed to ask.

"There's a lot to unpack I see." Dominique said waving her left arm to her side. "Why don't you pull up an earth stool next to me and we can talk while I get some rays and enjoy an afternoon off. I have a feeling that we need this to clear the air between us. If we are to work together to help the Avatar then we should be on good terms."

"Um sure but aren't you worried?" Sirius asked.

"About the sun? Nah I'm liberally coated in the highest factor protection so that I can be in this cute outfit." Dominique said leaning back on the deck chair. "Curse of being a ginger, I burn and don't tan and with the sun down South I know how to take precautions."

"I wasn't talking about the sun." Sirius said as he approached and pulled up an earth stool at an appropriate distance from Dominique to not be threatening but still close enough to be polite. "I was more talking about me being here. Aren't you worried that I may want to seek revenge on you for what you did to my mom."

"If I didn't know what I know from the Avatar about your desire for redemption and how you have forsworn your parents' views I might be." Dominique admitted with a shrug. "In a battle on this terrain, and with your reported abilities, even my precautions and guards, who are watching you as we speak by the way, would barely hold you off until the Avatar arrives but that's not necessary. Harry has said that you spoke the truth when you first met, and I have learned over my years as Chief to trust the Avatar's judgement."

"Oh ok." Sirius said relaxing a little though not before he noticed that there was a large waterskin and a sword under Dominique's chair, so she was ready for a fight just in case and likely could act in a moment's notice if the tales about her were true. "Yeah I mean you no harm for the past. I long ago forswore any revenge once I knew what my mother really was."

"Good because I feel like there is a lot we should talk about." Dominique said. "You are my best friend's son, well former before he became what he became, but it's still the same thing. I see a lot of James in you, hopefully it is the good side of him that I loved and not the darkness he kept from me until he was ready to act."

"Yeah there is a lot I want to ask you if that is ok." Sirius said finally studying Dominique and pausing for a moment as he took in the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe for the first time.

However, Sirius wasn't taking in her looks, which he had to admit were great and as had aged well, but rather what was on her body. He'd heard that Chief Dominique was a warrior with few equals, she was the She-Wolf of the Southern Waters after all and a Southerner didn't earn an honorific lightly, but it wasn't until he saw her near naked body that Sirius knew that the stories were true. A body covered in scars couldn't lie and Dominique was covered in them.

Some, like the scars around her left wrist, shoulder and knee were clearly surgical scars from fixing broken bones or torn ligaments she'd suffered in those locations. Others were small nicks likely from training, though the small one on her hairline above her left eye couldn't be from training. The one thing that Sirius wasn't sure about was the slight discoloration on Dominique's thighs that almost unnoticeable but thanks to her sun protection he could just make it out, he had no idea how that had happened or if it was even a scar.

However, none of the scars compared to the two most prominent ones that Sirius could see. One was a thing, straight, red line on Dominique's left palm that ran down the center of it from between her middle and ring fingers to the base of her palm in a near vertical line. The other was a diagonal, thickish, red mark that looked like a burn line between her hip and ribs on the left side of her body.

"Admiring my body art, I see." Dominique said with a chuckle after Sirius didn't say anything for a moment. "I don't blame you; I have grown rather proud of my souvenirs."

"You refer to your scars as body art?" Sirius asked confused. "That's something I've never heard of before."

"Well in a sense it is and given my family's history with tattoos it makes sense." Dominique said with a shrug. "We all have body art of some sort."

"But I can't see any ink on you." Sirius said though he couldn't see her back to confirm that. "I know my parents had ink from the descriptions I heard, or what I can recall of my mom, but I can't see yours."

"Oh, I don't have any actual tattoos." Dominique said surprising him. "Which is odd in my family as just about all of us, even my own son, has some ink. Basically, everyone who is a direct blood relation of my grandfather, Chief Arthur, has ink except me and my late uncle Percy who was too uptight to make his body with it. Some its ceremonial as they're airbenders, some it's purely cosmetic, and some it is to honor lives take, or a mix of that lot with my sister and brother both having all 3, but I never liked them. I don't need ink to show who I am."

"No, those scars do that just fine." Sirius said. "And more fitting for a warrior."

"That they do." Dominique said with a smile. "You know, your parents gave me, either directly or indirectly, my two most impressive ones."

"Really?" Sirius asked. "I never knew that you were injured fighting them."

"It's public knowledge if you read the full reports but few do." Dominique said as she raised her left hand to show Sirius the prominent scar there. "This was courtesy of your father's axe during our duel on Laghima's peak. He's also indirectly responsible for the scars on my left shoulder as he broke it during the duel. Before I got the one on my hand in fact."

"What happened?" Sirius asked curiously. "I know that you two dueled there and it was considered a draw, one of the few my dad didn't win, but the record doesn't go into detail on it."

"That's because I gave the record what it needed to know but you deserve the full truth of that day." Dominique said and Sirius was surprised to hear sadness in her voice. "That was the day I knew that the James that I'd grown up with was lost forever."

"You really meant what you said earlier." Sirius said as he could hear her emotions in her voice as she spoke. "You actually loved him and not as a cousin should."

"No, I loved him as a lover would." Dominique admitted and Sirius was sure he saw a tear trace down the Chief's cheek but didn't mention it. "I didn't mean to fall for him, he was my cousin after all so it's wrong and sick to do so, but I couldn't help it because the heart wants what the heart wants. He was my best friend growing up, we were as close as siblings and did everything together. We trained and grew strong together and over that time I realized what I felt for him was more than familial love. He was everything I wanted in a man and no one else at the time could even compare to him."

"Wait you weren't raised in the South?" Sirius said backtracking a bit in confusion. "Because I know my father was mainly raised in Republic City but that was because of the Avatar being based there. You were the daughter to the heir at the time so surely you were in the South."

"No, I was raised in Republic City as well, my dad was the ambassador to the United Republic at the time and my mom worked on Air Temple Island, so I actually lived in the same neighborhood as James." Dominique said. "I was born in the South, though. As a potential heir, especially if I ended up being a waterbender after my sister was born an airbender, meant that I had to be born in the South and I spent a good bit of time there but always with James as he was the only cousin my age, so he came with me when I went there. Most of the year though we were in Republic City."

"I see." Sirius said understanding now and recalling that he had once read that Chief William had been an ambassador for his nation before becoming Chief, so everything fitted what he knew. "And you attended the Elemental Academy together, same as my mom."

"We did though let's stick with James for now, we can talk about Sylvia later as I don't know much about her." Dominique said. "James and I were the same year and nearly the same rank in our class, I was third and James was first. We were both prefects in our 5th year and head boy and girl our final year. He was also there for me during the crisis and supported me when I needed it, even if he ended up backtracking during his first speech as Princeps."

"The crisis?" Sirius asked confused. "I take it you mean the Southern Constitutional Crisis between you and your sister."

"It wasn't between us, that was made up by outsiders trying to pit us against each other, but yes that is the crisis." Dominique said with a nod. "Vicky and I supported each other during it the entire time and I was more than willing to accept whichever choice she made when the time came. I wish it hadn't been the case but alas it was ordained that the first child of Crown Prince William would be an airbender like her mother while his second would inherit his waterbending, so we had to address how that played into Southern succession."

"I studied it when I was at the Academy." Sirius said. "It may still be in living memory, but it was a significant moment in history as it set a major precedent in the world."

"Well, it was the only time Korra reappeared through Harry to make a ruling, so it makes sense." Dominique said. "And it did establish a major precedent in that a national leader, with the exception of the United Republic, had to either be a nonbender or a bender of that nation's element in order to maintain balance."

"I meant, when you think about it, it does make sense." Sirius said. "It is how our world operates after all."

"It is and no one could deny that it was the correct ruling." Dominique said. "And Victoire made the right choice for both herself and the Tribe given what was to come and abdicated her claim to the Southern Throne. I was 15 at the time but I had a gut feeling that Vicky had decided to keep her bending. After that I became my father's heir and all that came with the position."

"And dad helped you with that." Sirius said.

"He helped me through it perfectly." Dominique said with a sad smile on her face. "Told me that it was my destiny the moment I was born a waterbender with a warrior's constitution compared to my older sister's. I was my father's daughter through and through and thus the rightful heir even before I became it. Course Victoire showed in the Assault on the Northern Air Temple that she is just as much a daughter of Chief William as I am and is now more heavily scared then either me or our father was but that's besides the point. James's support meant a lot to me back then even if he seemed to backtrack on it later to further his twisted views."

"My mother always told me that my father was always there for her and supported her through her darkest days." Sirius said. "And I don't doubt that he was there for you as well. It seems that despite my dad's faults, crimes, lies, and all that, he could be a good person to those he cared about."

"We're going to discuss that as well as I am unsure of how your parents ended up together as until you showed up no one knew that James had someone in his life like that but in good time." Dominique said. "For now, let's continue with James. It wasn't just him helping me, I returned the favor. I helped him find his own path as well you know."

"I didn't actually." Sirius said shaking his head. "I know that he was set on his path by the Avatar's speech at Ron's first inauguration as it gave him a true goal to chase but that's it. I don't know much else."

"James was always going to go into either law enforcement or the military, it was in his blood to do so." Dominique said. "But in all honesty it was always going to be the military. He is as much a warrior of the South as I am. He may have been an earthbender, but the blood of the South ran through his veins thanks to his mother, who is great warrior in her own right, and he got all of it. I could tell and after his doubts about the RCPD I suggested the Imperial Army. After all, I was destined for the Southern Army, why not do the same but for his element."

"That does make sense." Sirius said before he fully got Dominique's words. "Wait, you were destined for the Southern Army?"

"The moment I showed that I was a gifted waterbender I knew where my path would lead." Dominique said with a small smile. "Such is the life of the South, especially those born to rule our Tribe. I was born to be a warrior and I embraced that from the start. It was one of the many reasons why I had more support for my claim before Vicky gave it up. Well, that and I'm a redhead like my father, grandfather and great-grandfather so that helped."

"Red hair helped?" Sirius asked confused. "How?"

"It's a rare trait almost exclusive to the Southern Royal Family, it's our calling card you could say." Dominique said. "But later generations have begun to lose it. I inherited it from my father while my siblings are blond like our mom. All the water and nonbenders in my family have red hair, it was almost a guarantee that red hair meant you were going to be one of those things. That was true until Lily was born an earthbender with red hair but her grandmother on the Avatar's side was a rare non-Southern redhead so that made sense. Plus, she's a lavabender which is the liquid form of earthbending, so it was fitting for her in more ways than one."

"Ah I see but I think we are off topic." Sirius said getting back to the topic at hand. "You were saying how you helped dad decide to join the Imperial Army."

"It was a no brainer really." Dominique said with a shrug. "And he quickly took to the idea though more so than I expected in the end."

"But that would have separated you two." Sirius pointed out. "After the Academy ended that is."

"It did but we knew it and staying in contact, and it was for the best given my feelings for him." Dominique said. "Though not as much as I would have liked as we were both busy. I had to got to the Sokka Institute of Technology and then the Hakoda College of Warriors to learn what I needed to to become Chief one day."

"That is required for you?" Sirius asked confused.

"Not required but heavily suggested that the future Chief study in the South after the Academy." Dominique said. "And when that was done I joined the Southern Army and did a rotation in all facets of it so that I could one day command it. James meanwhile went to the Imperial War College in Ba Sing Se and excelled there before joining a Terra Team which meant that he was the best of the best and for good reason because he was. He became the youngest special forces commander in history and was on track to become the youngest ever general."

"Until he committed his heinous crimes." Sirius said knowing what had derailed his father's career but had ended up accelerating his actual goals. "And given how close you were growing up and your feelings for him, it must have been hard for you."

"I couldn't show it, but it broke my heart when I learned that he'd committed that atrocity." Dominique said sadly. "I had the clearance to see him, I was the Crown Princess of the Southern Water Tribe so I could given my position, but I couldn't confront him. I just buried myself in my work to forget about it. I considered James dead the moment he lost his mind and slaughtered all those innocent people. Even if those people were aiding rebels, they didn't deserve what James did to them. I didn't learn until 7 years later that he had died before he even graduated from the Academy though. These days I'm not sure if I ever knew the real James."

"His reveal speech." Sirius said. "That can't have been easy for you to deal with."

"No, it was not." Dominique said shaking her head. "Not in the slightest. I had just lost my father, murdered before my very eyes in the Throne Room, and had barely escaped with my own life, though they were likely trying to take me alive. The discoloration you likely noted on my thighs when you checked me out is from freeze burns I inflected on myself so that I could ride my polar bear dog and fight at the same time."

"I was wondering about them and that does answer that for me." Sirius admitted. "Go on though, sorry for the interruption."

"It's ok, I had a feeling that they confused you." Dominique said. "They aren't the only scars from that they do. The scars on my wrist are from a broken wrist I suffered when I got to the north and barged into the Throne Room on my dog brandishing my father's spear having ridden there through the Spirit World."

"Um what?" Sirius asked confused. "You did that."

"Not my smartest move, any of it." Dominique admitted with a dry chuckle. "But it had to be done if I wanted to escape and let the world know what had happened to my father. The Avatar stopped me, and I broke my wrist in the fall, as well as got a concussion from hitting my head on the ice. I recovered and learned the toll of the global coups which was bad enough but then I saw James's speech."

"I've heard a recording of it." Sirius admitted. "I was played it to remind me of my dad's views before I renounced them. It was hard to listen to."

"It shook me to my core and angered me because of who it was." Dominique said darkly. "To think that the boy I loved could become the monster that was the Princeps, and had ordered my father's murder, well, it was almost unbelievably. I was supposed to know James better than almost anyone, at least I thought I did but it turned out I didn't know him at all. He solidified his status in history that day when reveled himself as the Princeps and the greatest enemy an Avatar has faced in centuries. He made sure we knew how serious he was."

"When he beheaded Neville on live VV." Sirius said. "I know, that was horrible. The first long term Avatar companion to die in his service since Yangchen's era and a vile act of pure evil."

"Be grateful you didn't watch it; Neville was like family to me and taught me more about the sword than anyone else as we used similar blades, so his loss was hard for me." Dominique said sadly. "But it was that act that galvanized me to step up and follow the Avatar's example by going behind enemy lines and sabotaging the Principate the way Harry did to Hermione when she was running the illegitimate Fire Utopia."

"I've heard about the mission you commanded behind enemy lines; you don't need to go into detail on that." Sirius said. "I know that was where my father badly injured my aunt and murdered my uncle, the latter being the first fatality on such a mission as Team Avatar didn't have that when they did it to Hermione. You don't need to repeat it."

"Good because I can't do it justice, you should ask your aunt or Scorpius if you ever meet him about it as they'd know more." Dominique said. "I was coordinating it and not on the frontlines like I probably should be. After Albus's death and the near deaths of Hugo and Lily I couldn't sit back anymore though. That was why I stayed at the Northern Air Temple when we got there to defend it when it was inevitably attacked. That was why I fought James in that duel."

"Where he gave you that scar." Sirius said referring to Dominique's hand and she nodded. "So now that we are back to where we began, what happened in that duel."

"A lot." Dominique said her voice far off as she spoke. "It was the only time James and I spoke after his initial crimes. He tried to persuade me to join him, tried to use our past friendship to achieve it, but I would never side with him."

"Dad probably knew that but was doing so out to stall for time or see if it would work." Sirius said. "At least mom said that he would fight anyone who got in his way and seeing as he killed his own brother I don't doubt it."

"Yeah but I was also stalling to allow for my rescue to come in time and learn more about his transformation." Dominique admitted. "And I did. He revealed the full extent of his plans and how far back they went, it all made me realize that he was a zealot and beyond saving. Until that moment I had hoped that he could be redeemed even if it meant that he'd lose his bending and spend the rest of his life in prison. Hell, part of why I called him out for the duel was to try to do it myself, but he showed me that he was beyond saving. Only death or capture would stop him."

"So that was when you engaged him." Sirius said. "When your realized that my dad was unstoppable by words at that point."

"Well, I finally told him that I was in love with him first." Dominique said with a shrug. "It was my last chance to come clean about it, so I took it and finally got closure on them. Then I engaged him a split second later."

"Did that throw him off?" Sirius asked. "Suddenly revealing your feelings, I mean."

"It allowed me to throw one of the ivory throwing knives I had on me at him." Dominique said. "Alas it was the first time I'd used an ivory blade, it had been specially made to face James, and I was off target because of the unfamiliar weight as ivory is lighter than metal. As such I only grazed his arm."

"Still a clever deception." Sirius said. "Like my father, I can bend platinum, so I know how useful the ability is. Using ivory or bone is the best way to counter it as he'd instinctively try to bend it."

"That was the plan even if we'd agreed to fight with blades and not bending." Dominique said. "I knew I'd likely face him when the Air Temple was attacked so I prepared for it. It was why I had a special sword made while I was behind enemy lines so that I could duel him, and it was thankfully completed just in time for our duel. It was the same dimensions as my usual blade only made of ivory so lighter which added to my maneuverability and speed advantage. It allowed me to fight James's blade to blade that day."

"But ivory against platinum is not a good matchup." Sirius said. "It's too brittle and can't stand long against honed metal."

"Correct, it didn't last." Dominique said. "And against your father's fighting style I knew I had to be at my peak to win the duel with my own."

"You knew his style well I take it." Sirius said. "I have only read about it, and I favor spiked gauntlets as my non-bending weapon, not axes like dad did so I know very little of how he fought."

"James imitated his own father in terms of duel wielding while paying homage to the raw force of earthbending." Dominique said. "He had the strength to wield two axes and favored them over swords as they were stronger and more uncommon on the battlefield. When the Avatar took his hand, James stopped dual wielding and used only one axe as he couldn't reliably grip on in his metal hand. That was how he fought me, Lily and Albus, but his style didn't change."

"I've heard it was aggressive and power based." Sirius said. "But that's it."

"That is about right." Dominique said with a nod. "There was finesse and technique to it, James was an expert with a blade after all, but with an axe you have to use strength and power mainly to overwhelm your opponent and James had both in spades. It is almost the inverse of my own style which is part of why we spared so much as we could really learn a lot sparring each other."

"You're known for speed if I recall." Sirius said thinking on what he'd read about the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe. "You fight with a mix of speed, acrobatics, and maneuverability to rapidly strike your opponent faster than he or she can defend against it and thus win. I saw you use that style against the Avatar earlier though his dual wield gave him a solid defense."

"You've done your homework, yes, I use speed and mobility to my advantage when I fight, it's how I'm able to counter the inherent disadvantages of my gender." Dominique said. "Most women who reach my level only do so because they accept the biological limitations of being a woman and know that we aren't the same as men. By acknowledging that we can work around our weaknesses rather than ignore them. Women are naturally weaker then men and have different hormonal, bone, and muscle structures. However, there is benefit to this as well."

"You wouldn't be the She-Wolf of the Southern Waters if you couldn't overcome that." Sirius pointed out. "Or be considered a warrior with few equals for at least 20 years now."

"True, a title I wear with pride as it is only the 4th such title awarded in the South's history, it's the only one I truly like using as I earned it." Dominique said with a smile. "I overcame the raw strength and power of men by using my naturally smaller and lither height and build to my advantage. Rather than focus on strength, I focus on speed, mobility, and precision when I fight. That way, I can get in quick and win fast if I can overwhelm their defense with my speed. The drawbacks is that if the duel is prolonged I will tire sooner."

"And dad would have known that from sparing with you." Sirius said. "As well as how an ivory blade wouldn't hold for long against his axe."

"Correct and between his own ability to defend, a metal exoskeleton thing he likely had on for his winch system, and his metal hand, James was able to adapt to me in our duel despite only using one axe." Dominique said. "He switched to the defensive style and wore me out while weakening my blade. I got desperate and tried to overpower him, it was a big mistake."

"What happened?" Sirius asked.

"My blade shattered because I used too much strength." Dominique said simply. "And I was put on my ass. I avoided death by reverting to waterbending and hitting James with a blast from my waterskin. That turned the duel to our bending, and he responded by hitting me in the chest with a rock that he bent at me while in midair."

"Dad was a gifted bender." Sirius said. "I never saw it, but all the stories say he was."

"Oh, they don't do James's talents justice, I can admit that." Dominique said. "He's the best metalbender to ever live and one of the greatest earthbenders in history. I am considered a top 5 waterbender in this day and age and probably top 20 all time and I was still inferior to him when it came to bending. Only on ice could I match him, and we were on a mountain at the time. After he hit me, he was able to recover and stop me from falling off the edge to my death at the last minute without getting up."

"Stop you?" Sirius asked. "Is that how you broke your shoulder?"

"Yup a small rock wall created right before I would have gone over the edge." Dominique said. "Hit my left shoulder at full force and cleanly broke it. It left me winded and wounded on the ground while James was only wet from my attack."

"So how did he hurt your hand?" Sirius asked. "That I don't get. Well, that and how that duel is considered a draw though you ended up beat at the end, similar to his one with Lily."

"That was more me than him." Dominique said and Sirius noted a pained look on her face. "I will tell you what happened but understand that this is the only part of the story that is classified information, if you say anything I will deny it and you will be sent to prison for a long time, understood?"

"Yes Chief." Sirius said seriously though given the factors of the duel so far he already had an idea what happened.

"Good." Dominique said. "Well, after that I was basically helpless and out of the fight. James acknowledged our friendship as he approached me with his axe and promised me a swift, clean, beheading. He'd saved me so that he could execute me. I wasn't ready to die so at the last minute I raised my left arm, despite the broken shoulder, and put all my desperation into stopping him. I did though not before the axe made contact with my palm and cut me deep leaving this scar."

"If you stopped him then there was only one thing you could have done to do so." Sirius said his theory confirmed. "Bloodbending, just as I thought when you told me the position you ended up."

"Correct, I used it for the first time." Dominique said with a shudder. "I am not sure if it was because of the desperation or my own skill, likely the former, but I managed it not only without the full moon but during the day. It was disgusting but it saved my life. I was able to throw James away and buy enough time for Teddy to arrive and get me to safety. After that I wrapped my hand, braced my shoulder, and then spent the flight back to the North saving Victoire who was in a much worse state than I was. That was how Chief William's daughters were both badly injured in the same battle."

"Interesting and don't worry I won't tell." Sirius said. "And I thank you for being truthful with me about that battle. I know how bloodbending can affect someone, my mother, well…"

"She was blood mad." Dominique said bluntly. "I know, I saw it first hand when we dueled during the Second Siege. I had to internally bloodbend, a technique Albus developed when he fought Voldemort's daughter Delphini, to stop her from using it on me just so that we could fight with blades, but I saw how insane she was. Bloodbending fucks with the mind."

"She was always lovely with me, but I have read the reports of her actions and atrocities during the war." Sirius said. "It's hard to compare the loving mother I had with the blood bitch of the Principate, but all the reports are the same on her front."

"That they are." Dominique said. "Sylvia was good though, there's no denying it, to be able to bloodbend at will shows a prodigious waterbending skill that can rival, if not exceed, my own. It was something she didn't show at the Academy from what I recall."

"Can we talk about my mother now?" Sirius asked. "You've told me about your relationship with my father but not my mother and I do want to know more about that given what happened. You also said she was responsible for your other big scar."

"Two scars in fact." Dominique said shifting her head to look at Sirius and pointing to the faint scar along her hairline above her left eye that he'd noticed before. "She marked her presence by giving me this in the Second Siege. I was going from ship to ship helping were needed while in a complete battle haze, that was what earned me my honorific, as was your mother, and we ran across each other that way. She used a razor thin water whip to try and kill me, but instinct and training save me. I turned at the last minute and rather than take it in the neck, it glanced off my helm. The force knocked it off and cut me, but it got my attention."

"I see." Sirius said. "And the other one?"

"I'll get to that in a moment." Dominique said leaning back and tracing the large scar on her side with her right hand absentmindedly. "That was indirectly your mother's doing but you asked what I knew of her and the answer is very little."

"But you are both from the South and the same age." Sirius pointed out. "How did you not know her at the Academy?"

"Oh, I knew her, all of us in the Water House did because of her reputation, but I never spoke with her." Dominique said. "And in all honesty I should have because she was one of my citizens who my family failed but, well, I was always with James or my other family members or friends I'd known prior who were there with me. Sylvia was one of the ones who came from Harbor City and didn't know anyone else at the Academy as she was a bursary case. In fact, I didn't know she was from the South until our duel in the Second Siege, a fact I deeply regret."

"My mother had a hard upbringing." Sirius said. "I'm sure you are aware of it now."

"I was made so in hindsight and it did force me to be more proactive with the poor of my nation when I became Chief so that no one suffered like Sylvia did." Dominique said sadly. "But yes I know her history, the daughter of an abusive pimp and his drug addicted prostitute, both of whom died or were incarcerated for life before she was 2. Raised by a sadistic aunt who sexually and physically abused her from a young age, it was a miracle she lasted as long as she did and no wonder she turned out that way."

"Her bending got her out of the slums." Sirius said. "And to the Academy but her past haunted her while there and she coped with it the only way she knew how, at least that was what I was told."

"I knew that she was a bursary student when we were there, one of the many sponsored by the royal families or other groups to attend the Academy for academic or bending reasons because it is supposed to be open to all regardless of money." Dominique said. "But she never said where she was from and we never spoke, so I never heard her Southern accent. I knew she was into the sex and drugs crowd from third year on but not why. Add that in with the abuses she suffered and a proficiency in bloodbending and it was a miracle her mind didn't snap."

"It almost did." Sirius admitted and noted Dominique's surprise at that. "She told me how my father saved her life on multiple accounts. Mom had agreed to perform oral sex on a Fire House student who came from a wealthy family but was a notorious drug dealer, so mom was using her body to get her fix. He wanted more though and tried to rape her. That's when she first used bloodbending on a human to, um, remove the offending organ. Then dad arrived, killed the firebender, and took her under his wing in their last year at the Academy."

"That would explain why James was so busy that year." Dominique said realization in her voice. "I knew he was busy as Head Boy; I was as Head Girl after all, but I didn't know part of it was because he'd already started recruiting as Tate was also recruited while they were at the Academy and from what I heard James played into that maniac's misogyny to recruit him. As for that innocent, I remember the kid in question, he was your typical rich douchebag who peddled designer drugs. His disappearance was noted but most assumed he'd just left before he could be caught and expelled."

"He was buried with a broken neck, but I made sure to anonymously alert the authorities and I know that now his murder has been attributed to my father thanks to my report, again anonymous." Sirius said. "But that is how mom became who she became, what about your duel with her? The one that cost her her life. I, I don't know how my mom died other than that her body was never recovered."

"I killed her so I can tell you if you want." Dominique said. "But I warn you, it's not pretty. She likely didn't suffer much, her death was near instantaneous, but it was violent."

"I don't doubt that she met a violent end, she lived a violent life so dying by violence was always something she knew was a possibility according to her diaries that I've read." Sirius said. "And I've always known you were the one who killed her, but I would like to know how and everything that happened in that fight. It was one of the four major duels of the Second Siege after all. I know about dad's as everyone does but not mom's."

"That it was as it was two of the major commanders and arguably two of the 5 best waterbenders at the time going at it while on the water." Dominique said. "As soon as she sent that water whip at me I knew that I would be facing a skilled waterbender who could challenge me and looked to my opponent. That was when I saw Sylvia and I won't lie, my blood went cold with fear."

"My mother instilled fear in you?" Sirius asked surprised. "I didn't know that she could do that to a warrior of you class."

"I may love battle and court it in the wake of the Principate War but only a fool or a madman doesn't fear it." Dominique said. "I am the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe though; I cannot show that fear. I am the warrior of warriors for my Tribe, the heart and soul of it. I must lead and fight from the front against any foe who challenges my people."

"And that included my mother." Sirius said. "She was one of those great threats to the South."

"You only knew her as your mother and no doubt she was as loving and caring as a mother should be, I know that despite my own disposition and reputation I am like that with my children." Dominique said. "But I only knew Sylvia as a warrior I had to face on the field of battle, but she was more than a warrior, she was a bloodbender and fully in the sway of it at the time."

"That would fit, it was a battle." Sirius said. "She likely had been bloodbending from the start and had given herself to its power to withstand it. She always said that the only way she could retain her sanity as a bloodbender was to fully give her mind to its sway while in battle and go with it. That way when her foes were beaten she could leave that state and return to normal. At least that's how she put it in her diaries, she never told me directly."

"I don't know about any trance or anything, but it was clear that she was fully under the sway of the blood." Dominique said. "I saw it in her eyes when we met in battle. She was standing at the bow of the boat using the sea as her source of water and bloodbending any defender who tried to stop her. She, she wasn't a pretty sight."

"I remember my mom being beautiful." Sirius said. "But if she was bloodbending she can't have been that day."

"I can tell you what she looked like, but it may ruin your image of her." Dominique said. "It, it isn't a sight I will ever forget but you shouldn't hear it."

"No, it won't." Sirius said shaking his head. "When I went to the Swamp, back when I formally renounced my parents' views, the Swamp knew I had to see them for what they were, both their loving side to me when I was born shortly before dad's crimes, and the heinous acts they committed in the name of the Principate. It, it showed me dad's massacre and what my mom did to free him from prison. I know what she can be like when under the full control of her blood madness."

"I don't know about that day, but she was probably worse during the Second Siege." Dominique said. "She was covered in blood and none of it was hers. She also had a mad look in her eye as she fought with a gleeful grin on her face the entire time. It, it wasn't something I was ready for. Her bloodbending was at Voldemort's level and she knew his special move. Sylvia, she, she took pleasure in what she did that day if you know what I mean."

"Bloodbending messes with the brain." Sirius said with a sigh. "And my mom's past abuses during a mentally developmental period of her life meant that her mind wasn't quite right so that doesn't surprise me that she became aroused by it. I saw the look she had when she slaughtered the White Lotus guards when she freed dad, she was fully embracing bloodbending. In her writings, she claimed the only way to avoid the insanity of it was to give it full control and enjoy it when she used it, but I don't think she was sane."

"She certainly wasn't that day." Dominique said with a grimace. "She killed all the other defenders present before my eyes as I got ready to face her and before I could save any of them. We exchanged barbs, she knew of my own foray into bloodbending and tried to convert me, but it was more a formality than a real effort as she likely also knew of my confession to James and saw me as a rival in that regard despite being his wife though that I didn't know at the time. After that she revealed that she was from the South and we fought as Southerner warriors would, with blades in a duel to the death."

"My mom could wield a blade?" Sirius asked. "That is something I never knew. I only ever saw her bending."

"She wasn't the best, but she was clearly of the South and could hold her own to a point and against me she had to use it as she couldn't bloodbend me." Dominique said. "She used a Southern machete against me and lasted longer than I expected though I was constantly internally bloodbending to avoid her getting a grip and she used the water and blood around her as a shield to bolster her defense. Her bending was amazing, I can admit that, so it helped her. That was how she lasted so long against me, but I was by far superior with a blade."

"But that's not how she died." Sirius said. "Right? She died a more violent way then by the edge of your sword"

"Correct though it almost was." Dominique said. "I forced her to a knee and was about to decapitate her as I would any traitor to my nation but then everything went wrong. A ship crashed into the one we were on. Not a ram but a crash and that shook us."

"And broke your concentration on your internal bloodbending." Sirius said realizing. "But why didn't mom kill you."

"Because she only had a split second to act before I recovered so she threw me away like a ragdoll." Dominique said. "Likely to get some distance and injure me enough to fully kill me a moment later. She threw me into a harpoon mounting on the ship as we were on a converted hunter ship for the sake of bolstering our naval defenses and as such had a pair of old harpoon turrets. I hit it hard and then fell to the deck. It was a clever move as it kept me dazed and winded for her to finish me off. That was likely her plan all along."

"Makes sense." Sirius said. "Injure you and send you away so that she can properly end you. Something stopped her though or else you wouldn't be here. That's the only explanation I can think of."

"My cousin Rose intercepted her before she could kill me." Dominique said. "She had seen me head to that ship and followed to back me up. She arrived just in time to stop your mother from delivering a fatal bloodbending attack on me. Rose and Sylvia engaged in a brief waterbending duel with Rose favoring a probending style to your mother's southern style. However, Rose stood no chance against a woman of Sylvia's caliber. Rose is good, easily top 10% of waterbenders but she's nowhere near mine or Sylvia's level."

"And as such she couldn't stop mom from grabbing her in a blood hold." Sirius said understanding. "But Rose had only been distracting her long enough for you to recover."

"Correct." Dominique said with a nod. "I had recovered enough to realize I'd hit the harpoon turret and that it was either modified or broken so that it could spin 360 degrees. I leapt on it as Rose held off Sylvia and used all my strength to turn it and line up the shot."

"Oh shit." Sirius said his eyes wide, that was not what he'd expected to hear regarding his mother's demise. "You shot my mom with a harpoon?"

"Yup, right as she had Rose in a blood hold and was about to kill her." Dominique said. "I yelled at her to get her attention and then fired as she turned to me. The harpoon struck her in the chest at full speed and took her over the edge of the ship. She died instantly."

"Still not a pleasant way to go." Sirius said a little confused though about one thing. "But her body was never found, surely you could have just reigned in the harpoon from the cable."

"Yeah that would have been tough." Dominique said as her hand fell to the scar on her side again and gently traced it. "The cable had been cut by something and wasn't connected to anything on the ship. It whipped up and grazed my side right after I fired the shot. That's how I got this scar, it's effectively a metal cable burn when it crosses skin at high speed. Without an anchor though, the whole thing flew over the side so was never found it when we looked for bodies, well that and that ship sank to add to everything. However, there was no doubt that Sylvia was dead, no one could have survived that."

"That I don't doubt." Sirius said. "I know my mom is dead even without seeing the body. Thank you for telling me though, I, I needed to hear that to close my chapter on her and truly move on from what she stood for."

"Sometimes it is what we need." Dominique said. "I will always carry the scars from those battles so I will never forget them and all who we lost in that war."

"After you killed my mom, what did you do?" Sirius asked.

"Well first Rose healed me as best she could as I'd fallen off the harpoon mount and briefly knocked myself out." Dominique said. "Then I climbed the watch tower thing on that ship to survey the battle. It was a clusterfuck but even then I could see the Princeps's airship was on fire and beginning to crash which meant that your father and grandfather were engaging in their duel."

"Yeah I know all about that fight." Sirius said. "It is the best documented of them all seeing as it decided the war."

"Just another epic duel for the Avatar." Dominique said. "One I didn't see beyond the results of it to his airship. After that, I climbed down, added my own healing to my wounds and then Rose and I rejoined the battle. It didn't last much longer though. We got the call from Ron that James was dead and the Avatar alive, albeit barely. The Princeps death was confirmed by a captured Rohit."

"And that's when he gave the order to stand down." Sirius said understanding. "And the battle was over."

"As soon as your father died there was no way the others could fight on and win." Dominique said. "Add in that Tate and Sylvia were also dead, and Rohit captured, and the generals of the Principate gave the order to stand down and surrender to us. Tate's decision to try and kill Xander, one that led to his death before he could breach the city, helped as he wasn't there to command the commandos and our defenders repelled them but at a serious cost. They also didn't know the status of the Avatar but assumed he was still active and would come for them with all his power which added to their decision to stand down."

"My father was seen as the only one who could stop him." Sirius said. "So that does make sense. That was basically the end of the Principate War then. His dream died with him on that ice."

"The main war yes." Dominique said. "It took another year for everything to be cleared up and the world restored to normal, though the trials and manhunts for war criminals continued for over a decade. However, in the wake of our defensive stand, we pushed back and quickly regained the United Republic, Fire Nation and Southern Water Tribe. The latter was where I met my now husband, a skilled general who'd survived the coup, taken the survivors into the tundra, and prepared our counter attack for when the Princeps fell. He was the reason the South was freed so quickly."

"But didn't Molly escape." Sirius said. "I read that she was one of the last major criminals to be brought to justice."

"That she was." Dominique said with a nod. "She fled the moment James died and went to Ba Sing Se, that was the last major holdout, and her flight was a key reason why the South was reclaimed so quickly."

"That doesn't surprise me." Sirius said. "But Ba Sing Se didn't get liberated so easily if I recall."

"Kinda hard to liberate that place given its walls." Dominique said. "It was still holding out when I was officially crowned by the Avatar 6 months after our victory during the Winter Solstice. It eventually fell when Zeller invoked an ancient custom that determined a battle by having the leaders of each side fight to the death so that only one person died when Lily came to the frontlines as she can take down a wall on her own."

"That doesn't surprise me." Sirius said. "A lavabender can do that, they're the only benders who can take down a Ba Sing Se wall on their own without the benefit of a boost like Sozin's Comet."

"Yup which is why Zeller challenged Lily to the duel." Dominique said. "As you can tell Zeller lost that duel. I was there when Lily broke Zeller's neck to end the war. There were still fugitives, but they were all caught eventually."

"Including people like Molly." Sirius said.

"Including her." Dominique confirmed. "She was caught alive by Ron and taken back to the South where she was tried by the ICTP for most of her crimes and convicted for which she received life without parole. However, she'd been the orchestrator of my father's murder, as well as the murderer of her own father and my uncle Percy and the rest of her family. That is High Treason in the South, and she had to be tried in a Southern court for that. She was found guilty and sentenced to death in accordance with our laws, the only such sentence handed out in the wake of the Principate war."

"And you didn't commute it the way Druzok did for Hermione." Sirius said. "I read that much."

"I couldn't, she'd killed the Chief, well she'd been the one to set it up at least as Gupta fired that crossbow, so she had to die." Dominique said simply. "And she wasn't going to be a martyr like Hermione would have been, so it wasn't a risk. I confirmed the death sentence and carried it out."

"Wait personally?" Sirius asked confused.

"Personally." Dominique said with a hint of sadness. "Under Southern law, the only crime punishable by death is High Treason but the law also dictates that as the crime is against the Tribe as a whole, the Tribe's representative must carry it out."

"And in the South the Tribe's representative is a reference to the first servant of the Tribe." Sirius said recalling what he'd read about the Southern Water Tribe's political system. "Which is the Chief."

"Correct." Dominique said with a nod. "My father never had to carry it out, but my grandfather had to, a lot because of the Purists who were planning on killing him in a coup. I have only once done it, with Molly but I did as I was tasked despite her being my cousin. She was taken to a special square in the prison, and I took her head with one stroke of my sword."

"That doesn't sound easy." Sirius said.

"It wasn't." Dominique said. "But it is the law, and I did what was required of me by law. After that though, we've had peace until this Ekrizidis person showed up."

Sirius was about to say something when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Two people were approaching them, one was his grandmother in a simple Earth Kingdom outfit, the other was a tall woman dressed in the blues of a Southern soldier though in a cut Sirius didn't recognize which meant that she was likely one of Dominique's royal guards.

"Auntie, what are you doing here?" Dominique said sitting up and removing her shades, a hint of worry in her voice that surprised Sirius. "Is the Avatar alright?"

"Harry is fine, just resting before he has to get ready for tonight with Ron." Ginny said with a reassuring smile. "But as it is a formal dinner with all the pomp and ceremony that the ISEK requires by law, well we women need a little more time."

"Wait it's formal?" Dominique said sounding fearful which really shocked Sirius. "No one told me that there would be a formal ceremony here, there are bare minimum requirements when on ISEK soil that especially apply to foreign Heads of State."

"They didn't your majesty because they know how you feel about formalities." The guardswoman said with a slight bow of her head. "It was safer this way, less likely to end in waterbending from you as we try to get you to comply with your royal requirements as our Chief."

"Shit, damn ISEK customs." Dominique grumbled then her eyes went wide for some reason. "I saw a box on the airship, don't tell me that I have to wear it. While they followed my design, you know how much I hate that thing."

"Alas you do my niece." Ginny said with a sigh. "You know how these things are. We need extra time to wrestle you into what they want, and I have to help as is our tradition. Please don't make this hard. It is one night and is important to our relations with Zaofu. They are a major industrial hub and innovation center who we have a good relationship with, don't ruin it because of the rules of this nation."

"Fine, I can put up with this shit for one night." Dominique grumbled. "But we are going with my compromise. I am still the Chief; I at least get some say in what I have to wear so long as it is in line with our customs and what the ISEK deems formal."

"I have been informed that that is fine." Ginny said with a slight smile. "Provided that you wear the other important items and make sure you meet with every important dignitary at the feast."

"Yeah, yeah, I know my role when it comes to this kinda thing." Dominique said with a sigh standing up and picking up her waterskin and sword. "I've been doing this for 18 years as Chief and had to a bit before the war when I served as dad's representative to things, it's just frustrating."

"Such are the customs of the ISEK." Ginny said. "The South has always been less formal, but we must at least honor them in other nations for it is their culture here, not ours."

"Um what is going on?" Sirius asked causing the women to look at him.

"We are getting ready for the feast." Ginny said simply. "It takes time when it is formal like this, especially in the ISEK. I do suggest you head back to your quarters; you will find your own clothes there I believe, along with a servant to help out with anything you don't understand. I know what is planned for later Sirius, but you will have to get ready and look the part. You are the Avatar's guest, so your actions reflect on him."

"I see, I will do my best then." Sirius said with a nod. "Chief Dominique, thank you for the talk."

"It was needed and at least ate up some time for you." Dominique said with a smile. "And cleared the air between us regarding mine and your parents' pasts. Now if you excuse me, I have several arguments to have with various annoying traditional Earth Kingdom citizens about tonight and no doubt I will be stripped of weapons and water."

"Other than a few ceremonial ivory ones that we can get away with that is correct." Ginny said. "After you are washed that is. Your reputation precedes you my niece."

"Well at least I still have my hand-to-hand skills and those ceremonial weapons are still useful in their own way." Dominique said. "See you tonight, make sure it is ready for the Avatar."

"I will." Sirius said as the women left to head back to the estate with Ginny and the guardswoman.

Sirius just sat there for a moment after they were gone thinking over everything that Dominique had told him. There was a lot to parse from their chat, but he felt like it was all things he needed to know. It gave him more perspective on his parents from his dad's best friend and the only person to face both of them in battle and live to tell the tale. Dominique was right, the talk had been needed and gave him some closure regarding his parents.

Still, there was a feast tonight with various things to sort out at and before, so Sirius decided not to dawdle and head back to learn what he had to do for it. With that thought, he got up and returned to his quarters still thinking on everything as well as something else that had been on his mind for a while but that would be dealt with tonight. First the night had to come though so it was time to get ready for his first ever formal feast. It was going to be interesting at least.

Well, there it is, the long, filler, background heavy, and character development chapter that I said was coming and is a staple of this series. It also helps explain more about Dominique and James's past, as well as set up a potential spinoff surrounding the Southern Constitutional Crisis I've been considering for the future. As this was mainly a closure and developmental chapter there isn't much more to say here. Up next, that feast as the preparations begin to draw to a close and the inevitable meeting approaches. As always any questions in PMs or reviews will be answered before the start of the next chapter (as well as replied to if possible). Please follow, favorite and review, all are greatly appreciated. Until next week.

Stringdog