It had been a week since the first Fire Nation assault upon the walls of Ba Sing Se.
It had been beaten off with trivial ease by the Avatar and his companions, so much so that General Zhang, one of the Council of Five, had opined to the Earth King that the Fire Nation in general and Ozai in particular must be idiots who relied on the superiority of their technology to carry the day too much.
This didn't put Kuei at ease though. It had only been a few weeks since the Avatar had burst into his throne room and opened his eyes about so many things, and while the history books would one day say that he had reigned since he was four his direct rule dated only from the day the Avatar came. And now came his first direct challenge.
Even if Ozai was a moron as Zhang claimed, and Kuei wasn't so sure, there was still a very large army parked outside the walls, and they were constantly bombarding them in the hopes of creating a breach.
Or at least they had been until an hour ago.
The bombardment had suddenly ceased then, prompting fears on the walls of a second Fire Nation assault, but instead a lone soldier had come forward under a flag of truce to communicate a message that Fire Lord Ozai wished to speak directly to the Earth King.
The message had been relayed back to the Palace, where Kuei had been enjoying some downtime playing with Bosco. Kuei was immensely grateful for that bear, he was the closest friend he had ever had. A bear didn't try to suck up because of your position after all.
And so Kuei had come. He, like Ozai, had been allowed ten handpicked guards to accompany him; he would be going outside the wall and so the risk of kidnap or assassination was not to be sniffed at. One of the Avatar's companions, the blind girl, Toph, had insisted on accompanying him outside the walls; after all, as she had said, if things went south he would need the Greatest Earthbender to ever live by his side.
One of his courtiers had been in the process of sneering about how a small blind girl couldn't possibly protect the King when that small blind girl had launched him several hundred meters. Only the intervention of the Avatar saved his life, and Kuei had accepted Toph's help.
Kuei gave a signal, and a passage through the outer wall appeared, created by unseen earthbenders atop the walls. Then, he and his entourage were in No-man's-land, with the wall to their backs and the camp ahead of them.
Movement came from ahead, and another group, dressed in the red of the Fire Nation, came from the other direction. The leader of that group, in his fancy bejewelled armour, was Firelord Ozai himself.
For the first time, the Earth King and the Firelord came face to face.
"Your Majesty", Ozai said in a tone that Kuei would have thought too icy to have come from a Firebender, nodding his head slightly.
"Your Lordship", Kuei returned the greeting.
"I come with terms of honourable surrender," Ozai launched into a pre-prepared monologue.
"It is known to us that there are some very important people to me, both friends and enemies, behind those walls. Hand them over to me along with your surrender, and I will allow you to remain in power in Ba Sing Se. You will answer to me, but will keep your throne."
Kuei felt indignation rise within him. "I hardly think you are in any position to be making threats. These walls have stopped any attempt to take this city for centuries; yours will not be the first army to break upon it. Besides, the Avatar stands with us. Your unprovoked aggression will not stand."
Ozai merely laughed.
"Unprovoked? Is that what you're telling yourselves. My daughter, the Princess of the Fire Nation, languishes in one of your cells. She is weak, but she is of my blood and honour demands her return. You harbour known fugitives from the Fire Nation-"
Do I? Thought Kuei. Yet more secrets.
-"and you, as you admit yourself, have allied with the Avatar, my enemy. Rationalise your cause however you want, Earth King, but do not pretend that this was unprovoked."
Kuei tried to argue with this point but no words came to him. Toph, though, did find words.
"Don't pretend you're so innocent", she spat.
"You've been pillaging the countryside of the Earth Kingdom for a hundred years! I know the suffering you cause. And for what?"
Ozai sneered. "I wasn't going to mention it, but now that she has spoken up. Are you really so weak, Earth King, that you need a little girl to protect you?"
Kuei could feel Toph just about ready to fly at Ozai and do the Avatar's job for him, but decided that if there was to be a fight, he wouldn't be the one to start it.
"You don't know what she's capable of, Firelord. You don't know what any of us are capable of. And that will be your undoing."
"Fine", Ozai said. "But let me make you a promise. Before this year is out, this city will fall, and its inhabitants will know our fire and our swords. Ba Sing Se will be consumed, along with everything else."
Kuei had heard enough. The meeting had devolved into simple threats, though the certainty with which Ozai said it did worry him. The Earth King signalled his guard.
"We're done here. Firelord, we categorically reject your frankly insulting surrender terms. Goodbye."
Ozai's eyes glinted with a cruel light. "So be it".
And without warning, he unleashed a firestorm at them. Kuei would have died right there, the proud line of the Earth Kings ending in flames, had Toph not reacted faster. Before Kuei knew what was happening, he was ten feet underground, the rest of the guard looking similarly confused. It was pitch dark, but of course that didn't bother Toph.
"Now do you know why I wanted to come?" She said.
Kuei took a moment to steady himself. "Thank you, Toph," he said at last. He had underestimated Ozai's willingness to break the parlay, and his total ruthlessness. That could not happen again.
"Let's get back inside the walls. I think I need a lie down."