CHAPTER THREE:

The Council of War

Kazu Chang was way too young to be under this kind of pressure. She was barely 25 years of age, and she felt like she was balancing the world on her shoulders. As she walked down the narrow hallway of the Council of War, she couldn't help but feel claustrophobic. The sash that kept her garments together was too tight. Her tall shoes were too tight…although that's how they always were. Her makeup was itchy. The Emblem of Fire weighing her bun into the ground. Kazu reached the door…those wide mahogany jaws that would render the country powerless. In gold, surrounded by a black marble dragon, rested the Seal of the Fire Nation.

"The Seal of a country that I used to love." Her fingers traced the outline of the dragon…grace, honor. She tenderly touched the blaze of fire…power, passion. Grace and honor surrounding power and passion. The nation used to be like that. They used to be graceful. They used to have honor. The last time she saw someone with an ounce of honor was when Taru…no, Zuko was challenged with Agni Kai. Kazu had only been in service for three months when she saw this happen. It was a complete shock to her—what Ozai did to his son. She could tell that he was distant, even aloof from his son, but she never imagined that it was boiled down to absolute hate. Zuko refused to fight. When that devastating blow came to him…anger bubbled inside her…she wanted to slap that child, Azula for smiling, as if she was enjoying seeing her brother not only publicly humiliated, but also physically abused. She was a sick little bitch.

Kazu breathed in deeply, clutching the scroll from Ozai—the official plans to kill his son…legally. The fact that it was legal scared the shit out of her. She pushed the door open.

At once, the Assembly stood, noting her presence. She told them to sit. She hated this fake honor. They did this because if they didn't Ozai would barbeque them (an image of Ozai chomping on General Yu's leg, dripping with barbeque sauce entered her mind). They didn't revere or respect her. She was just the middleman because Ozai was too much of a fat ass to leave his damned room once and a while.

"Gentlemen," Kazu started. She held up the parchment. "I hold the Fire Lord's new plans." She cleared her throat. She began to speak when something caught in her throat. It surprised her, this new lack of ability to speak. She looked at the parchment. The life of a human being lay in her hands, glaring at her, daring her even not to tell them its secrets. She couldn't do it…she couldn't do it. "It is with great sadness that I write to you, the Council, these findings. We have found the Blue Spirit. He is one of us—a traitor. He took the Avatar from the valiant hands of Admiral Zhao and let him go. He is responsible for the death of Admiral Zhao as well. The Blue Spirit is my first-born son, Zuko Li. He is hereby charged with treason and sentenced to death here in the capitol."

The room was silent. Kazu cursed herself. She could have made something up; she could have lied. Anything to keep this child alive. He was only a child after all.

"How much is it going to cost to find him?" General Ubiatis of the Este Sector of the Earth Kingdom said.

"None at all," a silvery voice said from behind them. Kazu turned, eye-to-eye with a young woman, 19 years old at the least. She had a small frame and bright gray eyes. Her hair was dark red, almost black.

"Excuse me?" Kazu asked, surprised by the woman's entrance.

"My name is Rhia Xiang. But you may call me Hia," she said, bowing. Her silver eyes danced in the firelight.

"And how can you make this search so cheap? How did you even know about it in the first place?"

"The Fire Lord hired me. I can find anything, anyone." The room was quiet, in shock, at the strange girl in front of them.

"Where is he, then?" Admiral Wi Commander of the Southern Water Tribes said.

"Got anything that belongs to him? All I need to do is touch it." Hia looked around the room, waiting for the men to hand her something. "You have nothing?" her smile fell from her face, but was replaced by a conniving frown. "Well, we're just going to have to fix that. Find me something in the next 24 hours, and I'll have him back here on a spit in less than a week."

"Is that all?" Kazu asked, her anger bubbling inside her.

"Yes, that's all." Hia looked at Kazu for a brief second. She leaned in and whispered into Kazu's ear. "It would be wise, Madame Kazu, for you not to think of the boy. He is a traitor and must be killed." Kazu stared at the woman in shock. She hadn't exposed her thoughts aloud, had she? Hia retreated, smiled and left the room.

It became deathly silent.

"That was interesting," General Ji said, attempting the break the odd silence. He looked at Kazu. "Can we trust her?"

"I don't know. The Fire Lord appointed her, so I guess she's clean."

"We should run a security check on her anyway," Captain Wei said. Kazu felt a tremor of anger in her.

"We don't have the funding for a security check on someone who has been hired by the Fire Lord himself," she said through gritted teeth. "We hardly have the funding for other things—"

"But once the Earth Kingdom is in our hands—" an unknown general said.

"'Once the Earth Kingdom is in our hands'…we've been saying that for the past six years," Kazu said. She sighed, rubbing her temples. "I apologize for that. What I mean to say is—"

"Don't apologize—" General Ubiatis started.

"Shut up, mate!" Kazu said. "Have you forgotten that the walls have ears? Do you want to be killed?" Kazu hissed. Ubiatis shut up.

"All right, Zuko's going to die in about a week or two then. What about the rest of the problems? People are dying in the streets at an alarming rate."

"Well, with the money that we'll save from the Avatar nonsense, we can begin to bring back the food and medical attention that they need."

"But will it be enough?" General Xi asked in a tender voice. Kazu refused to look into the man's eyes. General Xi was about 60-years-old and still active duty. The constant battles required a man of his experience to come back to the field. He was one of the few that still truly cared about the Fire Nation. If she looked into his eyes, she would start bawling. All that was in the golden embers was pain and sorrow.

"It should be, General. For the love of Agni, I sure hope it does."

bandgeek's corner

Woots! Update! Holla!

More Kazu! She truly is now, my favorite OC to write! And, Hia! Ooh, the sadistic woman who's on her way to kill Zuko! Dun, dun, dun... OC goodness for ALL::squee:

Wow! Thank you all for reading and reviewing my fic! Even those who don't leave reviews, I STILL LOVE YOU!

Let me say now that there are going to be fewer frequent updates. Remember how a new chapter was up everyday for three days? Well…know that school's started…it's going to be a little tricky.

ALSO! I have a beta. For those of you who don't know, that's someone who proofs (my God, is my grammar horrible. I'm in HONORS 10 too:le-gasp:) and gives me suggestions. I'd like you all to applaud Ms. cyrusdragon for stepping up to the plate and helping me out with this tangle of webs we call fanfiction. (That's reason number two that I'm not going to be posting as often. Gotta wait for the editor's a-ok to put it out.)

Well, my fans, my friends, as I bid you all farewell, remember this…

7 REVIEWS MAKES ME HAPPY! FIRST REVIEWER GETS A COOKIE!

Kai