Chapter 6

It was a lovely day, so instead of heading back in straight away after her first firebending lesson, Izara stayed outside and stretched, trying to work out some of the tension in her muscles that would surely get worse later. It turned out to be a great decision as the Kyoshi Warriors came outside and began their training session. The one leading must have been Suki, and Izara remembered she would be in her training group. They were terrific to watch and had a great understanding of both hand-to-hand combat and various skills with different weapons. Izara enjoyed watching the fans, which she had never seen before. Although it was amazing to watch, she knew she would never be as graceful as they were.

Hunger overcame her, and she knew she needed to eat after training. She drank the last of her water an hour ago and needed to keep hydrated to be in good shape for training tomorrow. She headed inside, went to the cafeteria, and got something to eat. They had freshly made sandwiches, and she grabbed one and an apple. Once she had finished, she returned her tray, went to the female guards' room, grabbed some fresh clothes from her trunk, and bathed.

She felt much better after washing off the sweat and dirt from the training session with the Fire Lord and enjoying letting the hot water relax her muscles. As she stayed in the bath for longer than she needed to, she took the time to mentally run through everything she had learnt today. The 3 sets they went through were basic, but she had a much better understanding now and how to generate power in her strikes. They hadn't used any fire today, instead just going through the movements and mastering the strikes' breathing, weight transition and efficiency.

The Fire Lord had seemed impressed with how fast she had picked it all up, and she allowed herself a smile, proud of her efforts so far. It was only the first day, so she expected it to get more challenging, but that was okay. She had memorised a few intermediate and advanced sets that her Uncle's men practised, but they would need a lot of fine-tuning. Going off how much correction she had been given today, some of her basic techniques would improve exponentially, which would help many of her higher-level skills.

After her skin began to prune, she hopped out and dried off before she changed into her new clothes. Since Izara had a bit of time before she would need to be back in the Palace, she decided to swing by a bookshop she had noticed on her way into the city. It had been a long time since she could buy a new book. Being with her Uncle in military camps didn't really allow her to enjoy reading as much as she liked. Now that she had a proper job and would have some definite downtime, it was a perfect opportunity to pick up the hobby once more.

It took her about thirty minutes to walk to the bookshop, but she was in no rush. She took the time to memorise some of the restaurants, cafes and shops in the area to become more comfortable and familiar with her surroundings. The Capital was huge, so she didn't stray too far, but she found all the shops that would contain anything she needed, such as clothes, toiletries and other comfort items. She would return after her first paycheck to get them for most of those things.

When she entered the bookshop, she was greeted cheerfully by a man who appeared to be around her age. He was polite and asked her if there was anything particular she was after. It had been so long that she decided to accept his help and ask for some recommendations. Izara had always enjoyed the more fantastical stories, and the staff member pointed out a series that had just had a new book released in the series. It was an author from the Earth Kingdom. Trusting the professional, she purchased the first book in the series, and he gave her the correct change and a free bookmark. It wasn't too expensive, but she would need something to do aside from work and training. Thanking him with a nod and a smile, she left and headed back to the Palace.

She went to the common room and sat down to read, but some of the other guards came up to say hello to her. They were all welcoming and seemed nice, and it put her nerves to rest a little. It had been so long since she had to meet and get to know new people, and it made her relax to see that getting along with everyone wasn't going to be a problem.

There were five of them sitting with her. One by one, they introduced themselves, and Izara did her best to commit their names and appearances to memory. Nami had short-cropped hair and a beauty mark next to her right eye. Raiko was sitting directly across from her, and he had long hair that reached his shoulders and brown eyes. He had a small scar on his neck as well. Lia was a rather pretty girl who looked a year or two younger than her and had her shoulder-length hair pulled into a high ponytail. Her smile was her most notable feature. Zhang was Lia's cousin, but they looked nothing alike. His hair was a much darker brown than Lia's hair which was closer to amber. Lastly, Ming, sitting on her left, was a quieter girl with a straight fringe that looked too long. Despite her shyness, she was nice.

"So, Izara, where are you from?" Lia asked her politely.

"Oh, I've been with my Uncle for the past few years. He's military, so we moved around a lot." She replied with a shrug. "What about you guys?"

"We're from the Capital. Born and raised here." Zhang answered for himself and Lia.

"I was born on Ember Island, but my family moved to the Capital when I was about 10." Raiko's voice sounded like he had just woken up, but that was normal.

"My mother is from one of the colonies, but we moved to Shu Jing when I was a kid and then came to the Capital. My father is in the military, so we didn't stay in one place long." Nami answered with a sickly sweet voice. It grated on her initially, but she would get used to it.

"Well, it's really nice to meet you all. I was nervous about coming since I've never lived in the Capital. Please look after me." She gave them all a seated bow and a smile, and they all laughed together.

Although she had come here to read, she was pleased to have the chance to make some friends. They chatted about random things, such as what events were happening in the Capital soon and good restaurants and shops to go to, and gave her some advice on settling in. Izara almost wished she had somewhere to write down all their advice but tried her best to memorise it. Nami offered to take her shopping once she got her paycheck, and Lia asked to join. Ming didn't say anything, but Lia was perceptive enough to invite her since she might be too shy to ask.

"What training rotation are you on? I'm in the second group on Tuesday afternoon with Suki." Zhang leant forward in his seat as he asked.

"I'm the same!" Izara answered with a smile. "I must admit that my firebending is severely lacking, so I might ask for some help sometimes if that's okay." She confessed, slightly embarrassed, but figured they all seemed nice enough to help her out.

"Of course! I learned as much as possible from my master when I was a kid, but it was too expensive to come to a good school here in the Capital when we moved. I've learned a lot since I started working in the Palace." Raiko offered, and Izara nodded to show that she understood his situation.

"Moving around with my Uncle meant that I never learned to bend properly. But I can fight well enough, I suppose." She was happy to try and talk to her new friends to gain common ground but didn't want to give away too much. A discerning eye might be able to pick up that she was more than she let on, so she wanted to make sure that she could justify her abilities.

"How did you end up getting posted here?" Zhang asked her, and she thankfully stopped her panic from showing on her face.

"Uh, I was at the Supremacist siege that happened recently." Izara figured that the best way to explain was, to tell the truth. It wouldn't give anything away.

"Oh yeah! The Fire Lord went there and everything. It must have been pretty crazy." Lia piped up, and Izara nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it was. I just helped out once the fighting started, and the Fire Lord must have noticed me. Later, he asked me to come to the Capital to work as a guard." She shrugged to try and make it seem as casual as possible, but they all reacted in surprise. Raiko sat back in his seat with wide eyes, and Lia gasped.

"You were personally selected by the Fire Lord?!" Nami almost squeaked.

"I can't wait to spar with you at training. You must be good." Zhang gave her a playful wink, and she smiled shyly.

"I'm nothing special. I don't know what he saw in me, but I'm glad nonetheless." Izara offered with another shrug.

"It's time for dinner, guys. Let's go. You coming, Izara?" Lia asked, and Izara nodded and followed them out, book in hand.

As they walked and ate dinner together, they continued to talk, and Izara got to know a bit more about them, and they got to know her. She was glad she already knew someone in her training group, and she planned to stick with Zhang on her first session next week. He seemed nice, so she felt less nervous about training.

After dinner, the men and women went to their barracks. Nami and Lia were in the same room, and Ming was with Izara. They said their goodnights, and Nami and Lia turned left into their shared room. Ming and Izara were further down, and Izara adjusted the book in her hand and heard a sound from Ming that caused her to look over in surprise.

"You like that book series?" Ming asked quietly, barely looking at her.

"I haven't actually read it yet. I bought this today, and I've only read the first chapter. Is it good?" Izara asked, glad that Ming was opening up a little. They would have plenty to talk about if Ming liked books.

"Mmm, it's one of my favourites. I'm sure you'll like it." Ming nodded with a shy smile, and Izara grinned and chuckled happily.

"Awesome! I'm so excited to read it now!" she nudged Ming gently with her elbow, and they both laughed together as they entered their shared room.

Ming left to wash up for the night, and Izara laid down and began reading the book. She was glad to find out quickly that it was good, and it grabbed her attention immediately. Only noticing vaguely when Ming returned, she didn't look away from her book until two other women entered the room. They had clearly finished their shift as they were wearing their uniforms and came over to introduce themselves.

"I'm Kaina, and this is Mika." Kaina was incredibly tall and had an elegantly structured face. Her eyes were a perfect almond shape, and her hair was the shiniest thing Izara had ever seen. Mika was around her height, looking even shorter, standing next to Kaina, and had a heart-shaped face with chocolate brown hair.

"I'm Izara. It's nice to meet you both. Please look after me." Izara stood and gave them both a polite bow. They returned the bow and smiled at her.

"We're going to wash up and go straight to bed, but we will have to talk and hang out soon, okay?" Mika suggested happily, and Izara nodded.

"I'd like that. Thank you." Izara grinned as the girls left to clean up.

Her nose went straight back into her book, and she took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. She felt more comfortable here as the day went on, and she had begun to relax. Due to her previous circumstances, she was used to moving around a lot, but if everything worked out here, this would be her new home.

A smile stayed on her face as she continued to read, enjoying her new book until she finally went to sleep for the night...