Chapter 5:
As Zuko walked to the merchant's office, his stomach began churning and churning. His clothes suddenly felt tight, with his collar feeling like it could suffocate him at any second. He walked past a row of doors, before finally reaching a door with a plaque that had the merchant's name inscribed on it.
Zuko strode into the office with the traditional royal stride, regal, confident, and self-assured - though, in reality, he was extremely anxious and fearful. The room was expansive and decorated in a minimalist fashion, the room almost entirely devoid of furniture save for a few chairs and a large desk located at the back of the office. The merchant was sitting behind the desk, his eyes glued on some paperwork that he was filling out. The desk was quite unorthodox, being only a large chunk of stone with a veneer of wood above it. Zuko frowned, staring at the desk like it was the monstrosity that it was.
"It works," a voice called out from behind the desk, answering the question in Zuko's brain of why someone would ever buy something so hideous. Zuko was taken aback, his eyes flashing wide and towards the sound of the voice. "Everyone who sees the desk has the same reaction," the man sitting behind the desk said, his eyes not bothering to look up at Zuko from the paperwork in front of him, "eventually I just started answering the inevitable question before you even ask it." His vocal tone was flat and apathetic, as if he had heard it all before and was simply too busy to pretend that he cared. Zuko nodded, still somewhat shocked by the instant answer, recomposing his face into a more dignified expression than pure shock. "My apologies on having forgotten our meeting - please, sit," the merchant said, finally looking up from his paperwork to address Zuko. He waived his hand at the table to signify that Zuko should sit.
The desk was covered in paperwork that was haphazardly strewn across the table, most of them were financial reports, some were forms and filings (most likely Fire Nation taxes), and a few were memorandums. Zuko took note of these, as they may provide information – and information was power, information was an advantage, information was a key to success and power. Most of the memos were about internal corruption within the company – stating that a pattern had been detected of ships ending their journey with fewer cargo than they had started with. Zuko grimaced – he hated corruption and incompetence, something he had picked up during his schooling. His father had always cared far more about fire-bending ability than their (Zuko and Azula's) performance in their administration classes and the other classes that Zuko and Azula took in order to prepare them for running the Fire Nation one day. A few, however, were memorandums about recent piracy issues and the new shipping schedules and routes chosen in order to avoid the pirates.
Zuko smiled, it seemed that fortune was favoring him – as opposed to what it had been doing to him previously in his life. His mind briefly flashed to his father telling him that Azula was born lucky, while he was lucky to be born, and his good mood quickly soured. He took a deep breath (he had been doing that a lot recently, a fact that Zuko noted down for later observation) and cleared his throat as he smiled at the merchant. The merchant, who had been pouring tea into cups, looked at him and smiled back wearily. He put a cup in front of Zuko, and one in front of himself, and began to drink rapidly, finishing the cup within thirty seconds of starting it. He looked at Zuko, who gave him an incredulous stare, and responded with a grim, weary smile. It was obvious to Zuko now that the merchant was … troubled, either due to underlying factors or environmental stress, the merchant had some odd qualities. This, however, wasn't a set-back – as someone who grew up new Azula, Zuko was … if not skilled, used to dealing with odd qualities.
"I presume there was a reason for this meeting," said the merchant coldly, "other than to stare incredulously at my peculiar preferences." Zuko coughed and apologized for his rude behavior. The merchant sighed again, annoying Zuko with his apathetic, nonchalant attitude.
"I happen to know that you have piracy issues," Zuko said, the merchant's eyes going wide, "and I'm quite sure I have the solution to that problem of yours."
Now, it was the merchant's turn to stare at Zuko, coughing, signifying Zuko to continue his sales pitch, "A Fire Nation military vessel – that's your solution." If the merchant's eyes were wide before, they were agape now.
"How did you manage to get one? They're all owned by the Fire Nation for the war effort!" The merchant managed to babble out after a minute of staring with his eyes agape and his mouth dropped.
"Let's just say I have connections," Zuko said, smirking. The merchant was still in awe, and while he managed to close his mouth, he was still too shocked to start negotiating for the vessel. Zuko sipped his tea, deciding to wait and enjoy his tea for a minute before he began to state his price for the vessel. He needed the merchant to be recovered enough to be able to deal with him, but shocked enough for his bartering skills to still be neutralized.
Zuko began the bartering process, and while the merchant was still in shock, it appeared that he had some inherent skill when it came to bartering. They circled over and over again on the price, Zuko pushing the price higher and higher, with the merchant finding a way to push it down by inventing concern after concern that he had managed to pluck from Zuko's attempts to push the price higher. In the end, they finally reached a price that both Zuko and the merchant found satisfactory. Zuko mentally calculated that it was above the inherent value of the steel and other materials on the ship, but possibly below the value it held as an anti-piracy vessel – Zuko was unable to tag a specific value to that function of the boat, and thus had a disadvantage when it came to bartering with the merchant.
They agreed to give Zuko an hour to clear his belongings from the ship, and afterward they would exchange the boat for the agreed price. After exiting the merchant's office, Zuko smiled – this phase of his plan had been executed well, despite it being cobbled together a mere few minutes before he executed it. He then prepared for the last few phases of his plan.
Authors Note: Hi! I don't really write these, but I felt that I owed an apology for not uploading for so long – Sorry! You must have thought I was dead (or forgot about me, whatever happened)! Now, I must apologize for the … lack of literary tension. The problem here is that these steps of the plan have to be executed properly, or he'll fail and then the rest of the story is unable to happen. So, I must apologize for the lack of proper tension, problems, and/or strife. Sorry! I swear, I'll be able to add these elements once Zuko reaches the Earth Kingdom (If you thought that I'm ending with Zuko escaping the Fire Nation, you were wrong). Thanks for all the views and reviews, and I have just one reaction: :)
Thanks again! I try to write a chapter every week, but I can't make any promises – this chapter was in development hell for two weeks, with me being busy reading other fanfics and having difficulties writing the chapter properly (I try to make every chapter 1,000 words for you all! It's difficult, but I tell myself that I'd be mad if a chapter was only 100-200 words, and it gives me the drive to continue writing!). Thanks again for 514 views (the view count as I am writing this author's note)! :)