Chapter 7:
The transaction had gone rather well, in Zuko's opinion. There were no last second amendments to the agreement; there were no back-stabbings or cons. Zuko had certainly prepared for those things – he didn't not trust the merchant, but he didn't trust him either. Zuko shook his head, willing himself back into the present from his musings of the past. It was time for the final sub-stages of the first steps of his plan. Zuko chuckled, impressed with his progress so far: choosing a small Fire-Nation colony, finding a merchant to sell his dreadnaught, selling the dreadnaught. He was almost done with his plan to escape the Fire Nation. Of course, that was merely the first stage in a larger plan to secure a position in the Earth Kingdom Bureaucracy. The rest of the plan was, so far, still hazy and unknown – without proper information, Zuko could only speculate as to what he would have to do to gain a position in the ever-complicated Earth Kingdom Bureaucracy.
He walked briskly, striding down the empty streets of the colony to the administrative center of the colony. Each Fire Nation Colony had one – it was mandated by decree of Firelord Ozai. The centers were established so that centralized control could be established throughout the Fire Nation. If the Firelord wanted something done, it didn't matter whether if it was in the Core Administrative Region of the Fire Nation or a Special Administrative Zone in the furthest colony, it would get done. These centers housed every administrative functionary, every record, everything. They housed each colony's monetary exchange centers as well, causing them to be Zuko's destination.
While Zuko had requested the merchant pay him in Earth Kingdom Currency only, the merchant was only able to pay him around seventy percent of the sum in Earth Kingdom Currency. The rest of it was in Fire Nation Currency – something that would soon be worthless to Zuko. Of course, it was a risk to travel to an administrative office – there was always the possibility that he would be recognized. Zuko mentally weighed the loss of wealth by refusing to convert the currencies and the risk of being recognized by the monetary officer, and determined that (even if there was a risk of being recognized) it was ultimately paramount that Zuko had the currencies swapped. Besides, Zuko was wearing a cloak – in the middle of a moonless night, no less; it would be rather difficult to recognize him, considering these facts.
Zuko reached the administrative center and marveled at the building. It was built in the Fire Nation's Colonial Style – practicality, efficiency, and resource-effectiveness were considered paramount, superior to all else. Still, the Fire Nation architects had managed to blend these pillars with architectural beauty – managing to salvage some semblance of beauty from the cold doctrines of this architectural style; it was admirable, really. Red beams jutted out of the multi-storied building at each floor level, cleverly placed lanterns illuminated the building, and the building featured an appeasing color palette.
Zuko pulled his bags closer to himself, and strode towards the entrance of the center. He walked through the door, noticing two guards stationed at the entry. "Excuse me, sir, could you tell me where the currency exchange office is?" he asked one of the guards.
"A bit late for a currency swap, isn't it? Down the hall, take a left, take a right, and then it'll be the first door on the right," the guard said gruffly, his voice gravelly.
"Thank you."
Zuko strode forwards, slowing down slightly after noticing how the guards seemed to notice how jittery he was. He supposed that he did look rather suspect, considering that he was concealed in a black cloak. He followed the guard's instructions, traversing the dimly light hallways to the monetary exchange office.
He opened the door, unsure of what the office would look like. The room was rather small, containing two doors (the one he entered and one in the back) with a small, rectangular, and ornate table in the center. There were two chairs at the table, and a small bell in the center of the table. Zuko walked over to the table, noticing a small, folded paper on the table; he picked up the paper and read, "Hit the bell and wait. A Currency Exchange Officer will be with you shortly." Zuko sat down at the table, and hit the bell.
After a few minutes, the door opposing to the one Zuko entered opened, and a woman entered the room. She was elderly, her hair gray and cut short. Her face held a smile that would have appeared genuine if it hadn't been betrayed by her eyes; her eyes were filled with the expression of one who had seen it all before, and couldn't wait to go home and get some sleep. She strode over to the table, taking a seat.
"Shall we begin?" she said curtly.
"What?" Zuko queried, confused. The officer groaned, obviously annoyed, before continuing in a sharp, demeaning tone,
"The exchange," she rolled her eyes, "duh."
"Oh," Zuko said sheepishly, embarrassed that he hadn't understood that, before continuing, "yes, please"
"Alright," she said, shifting into her chair, "let's start. What sum do you wish to convert, and between which currencies do you want to swap?" Zuko answered her questions, her bored expression soon being replaced by a quizzical, interested one. "Now, why are you transferring that large of a sum at this time of night and with these currencies?" She had probably begun to suspect something.
"Oh dear," Zuko thought, mentally beginning to prepare an escape plan. "I'm dealing with a customer who wants to trade in Earth Kingdom Currency." The woman chuckled at his answer.
"Which is it – is it smuggling? I've had plenty of that recently. No, a first-time smuggler would never carry that much money around. Perhaps you're a member of a smuggling ring? The cloak and mysterious persona would fit the bill." She mused, contorting her face in thought. Zuko was shocked – such open discussion of illicit activities was definitely not something Zuko expected from an official functionary. She stopped chuckling, rolling her eyes. "Fine then," she said, "guess you're not one for talking. It's not like this is the only fun I get around here." She sighed, rolling her eyes afterward. "I'll get that currency swap filed and filled out now." She stood up, and walked briskly over to the back door.
And Zuko was left confused as to what just happened.
A/N: OOF I didn't update for a month – SORRY! I had finals - and then two of my favorite book series released a new book, and so I've been busy writing fics for those fandoms (nope, not on this platform, don't bother checking this account lol). I'm trying to emphasize that I believe in quality over quantity – I won't write garbage just to release a chapter a week. This story deserves better than that.