It had been three days, and Katara was walking down the hall in the palace. Kyo was guarding her, and she knew many of the guards loyal to Zuko were placed along her main paths. Still, when Shinu stepped into the hall and stood before her, she knew he meant trouble. Unlocking her jaw, she asked, "is there anything you need?"
"I am fully aware you are behind the disappearance of my granddaughter. After all, she was all set to marry Zuko and join our houses. You are the only one who objects to that."
She put on a deceptively calm face. "It had been my impression you wanted me to marry Zuko."
Shinu scoffed. "At one time, yes, but Ozai objected."
"I'm not fooled. To get you on his side and against my marriage to Zuko, he suggested your daughter. It's no surprise it worked."
"Why bother denying the truth? Yes. That's exactly what happened. But know this, you won't win. Zuko will marry her."
Katara showed him a wicked smile. "Where is she? You'd have to find her first, and I don't like your chances. I don't like your chances in many things."
"Before you were even born, I had established my name and position in the Fire Nation. You're just a child!"
"It will make losing to me hurt that much more. You won't force Zuko to marry your granddaughter, and you won't force your will on me. In all your careful planning, you forgot something."
"And what do you think that is?" He glared at her trying to express how much she didn't threaten him.
"Fear. It's a powerful motivator and makes timid people lash out and do unexpected things."
He smirked, "so you do fear me."
As she walked away, she said, "not in the least."
Katara knew that fear was behind the big push to dethrone Ozai. That the support and loyalty that Zuko had was because he was not predictable, but at least acted in his sane mind. He didn't strike out and kill even those loyal to him.
Zuko didn't have to get his hands dirty by eliminating Shinu. The general's support of the crazed Fire Lord made him a threat to others, and plans were already in motion.
One day ago….
Zuko met in a small, out-of-the-way sitting room with two of his new allies. He was curious as to the reason for the request for a clandestine meeting. He had his guards, and he was wary, but he did believe the meeting was legitimate.
He recognized two of the men from the meeting the other night and the father of one of them. All three were waiting expectantly. Zuko said, "you did say your father was on my side."
"Yes, Zuko. We will be brief since we need to keep this from getting attention. We want Shinu dead."
"Because?" Zuko asked not to show his cards.
"He's powerful, and the more he supports Ozai, the stronger the Fire Lord's position. A position he's used to wreaking havoc and even kill those loyal to him. Removing Shinu weakens him. We need that done before the granddaughter can be found."
Zuko made a noncommittal noise and said, "easier said than done."
One of them smiled big and said, "the problem with the very ambitious is they rarely stay completely loyal. After all, they have to raise themselves up in the first place somehow, and then power gets addictive." He raised his arms wide and spread his hands. "Why didn't he suggest his granddaughter before?"
Zuko made a show of pondering that. He truly didn't know the answer, though. He just remembered loose rumors of what he had heard before. "She was always a powerful bender, but wasn't she sick a lot?"
"Yup. She was so sick that she died two years ago. The woman he wants you to marry isn't his granddaughter. She's his bastard child he can't legitimize, so he's trying to bring her distinction this way. He hid her away until his real granddaughter died, and then suddenly, she appeared in her place."
"Yes, but proving it…." Zuko trailed off, seeing the look in the other men's eyes. They knew something.
"Shinu seduced and slept with Nu. She was young, only seventeen, but…." He smiled. "You get where this is going."
"Yes, she's really my cousin. Nu was my mother's younger sister. Rumor was she killed herself after a heartbreak."
"She really died in childbirth. Your father wasn't the only one to want to mingle his line with Avatar Roku's; he just happened to have a wife when he did."
"And you have evidence?"
"Leave that to us. If all goes as planned, you will have proof of our loyalty in two days."
Szeto meditated quietly in his room. Ainu was off visiting with the harem and meeting with the Madam. He was glad for the time for quiet reflection. He needed it with how much he needed to restore his focus and his center. He was happy for the first time in decades, and that wonderful fact did pull his attention away from his bending.
He ran through what he expected in the battle to be with Ozai in his mind. He has spent hours talking with Iroh and acquainting himself with the Fire Lord's present strength. It was enormous and would test his full abilities.
He planned every attack and counter-move, fighting him in his mind. Szeto was aware that there was a chance he could lose, especially if he lost focus. That was a large reason why Ainu agreed to hide in the hidden cave when the time came. Initially, she objected, but he pressed how much a threat to her could change his focus. He needed to know she was safe and protected. It was the first time he told her he had fallen in love with her. She relented and made him vow to live and come back to her. She then told him she loved him too.
And now he focused on how to defeat one of the most powerful benders in the world without dying too. That had been a change in plans. Before, he had accepted that they both might not live through the battle. That had been okay with him since defeating Ozai was a decades-old goal for him. Now he had someone to live for.
