Avatar:
The Last Airbender Created By: Michael
Dante DiMartino,
Bryan
Konietzko
Avatar:
The Last Airbender Owned By: Nickelodeon, a subsidiary of Viacom
Based in part on a scene from part V of "I, Claudius", by Robert Graves, screenplay by Jack Pulman
All
original content and characters © Acastus
Author's Note: Pardon the delayed update folks, it's been hell at work. This chapter and the next are a little slow, but we'll get to the main action soon after. Thanks for the patience!
Chapter V – The Prince and The Pauper
Nikon looked out over the terrace to the garden below. The sun had just risen over the mountains, but had promptly hidden itself behind a bank of clouds. Soon it would begin to rain. Sighing inwardly, he hoped Iroh would not keep him waiting long to begin their morning training. Given Iroh's mood recently, however, Nikon half hoped the rain would wash them out. Ever since the Harvest Moon feast his friend had grown sullen and prone to unpleasant, angry outbursts.
He turned around at the sound of footsteps expecting to see Iroh. Instead, he saw a short man with light brown eyes and wide forehead approaching. He wore an army uniform with no rank insignia, but Nikon instantly recognized him and bowed.
"Hail, Prince Xian!"
Xian smiled warmly and bowed slightly in return before replying.
"Are you Nikon Orlando?" he inquired.
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Good. I've been looking for you," continued the Prince. Nikon's eyebrows disappeared under his bangs in shock. Xian chuckled at this response and jabbed a finger at him, "Yes, you!"
Nikon turned his head slightly away from Xian at this statement. Despite the Prince's pleasant countenance and his own friendship with the Crown Prince, he knew enough to know that such sudden attention from the high and mighty often had disastrous consequences for more common folk like him. His eyes darted from side to side, but he could see no guards on the terrace. They were alone.
"Have I done something wrong, Your Highness?" he asked in a low, tense voice.
"Not at all, my friend. In fact, I've come to ask for your help."
"My help?" asked Iroh's friend incredulously, his voice kicking up an octave in surprise. This was getting truly bizarre.
Xian's smile grew wider. He looked around the empty terrace in a slightly exaggerated fashion, then fixed his gaze once more on Nikon.
"Well, there are only two of us here and we did establish that your name is Nikon."
Nikon blushed furiously at this humorous jab, then shook his head as if to clear it. He smiled and replied, "My apologies, Highness. I didn't expect an interview this morning, but I'm, uh, glad to meet you. Prince Iroh has spoken of you nonstop since word of your return reached us last month. How can I serve?"
Xian walked up to the guardrail of the terrace and looked out over the garden.
"As I'm sure you know, our glorious ruler has charged me with a great task. To do this I need more than new technology. I need officers who can help me lead this army to victory. I asked Iroh to suggest some names and he came up with yours." Xian turned and met Nikon's eyes as he concluded.
The remains of Nikon's blush drained away as the implication of Xian's statement burned through his brain. That son of a bitch! he thought, bitterly. I'll kill him!
Recovering fast, Nikon responded, "But your Highness, I have no combat experience and I'm just a commoner. I don't think I have much to offer you."
"You think so?" remarked Xian in surprise, "There are more important things than family background. I need people of ability and determination. Iroh tells me that you were rejected from the Fire Nation Military Academy because your father was a pauper. However, you didn't let that stop you. After teaching yourself the basics, you persuaded Master Chen himself to help complete your skills. Now you train recruits for the army on Showa Field, is that right?"
Bowing his head slightly, Nikon replied, "Yes, your Highness. That is how I came to meet your cousin. It was just a few months after you left with General Shu, I believe." Nikon's mind ran furiously as he tried to think of a way to decline the "honor" the Prince was trying to bestow upon him. But how he could tell one of the most illustrious figures in the land that he had taken up firebending to impress a prostitute he'd had a crush on long ago?
To his horror, Xian put his hand on Nikon's shoulder and continued in a fatherly tone, "He told me, in fact, that you are loyal to three things, to your friends, to the Fire Lord, and to the truth. Now that's a wonderful thing to say about a person. I'd be delighted if he said something like that about me!"
"Oh, Iroh worships you!" Iroh's friend gushed involuntarily.
"Does he really?" Xian remarked, genuinely pleased. He removed his hand from Nikon's shoulder and placed it back on the guardrail, "Well, well! He's a fine man, you know, and will be a great Fire Lord one day," then with a trace of mirth, " – even if he does have the temper of a pregnant rhinoceros."
Nikon's eyes bulged out at this comment. Although Iroh and he frequently traded friendly barbs in private, Nikon had never before heard anyone characterize the Crown Prince that way.
Xian laughed and waved his hand dismissively, "Oh, what? You think I didn't know? Haha! Iroh is a true son of the Fire Nation, but I have high hopes that he will mellow in his old age."
"Hehe, I'm not sure we'll have any luck with that, your Highness."
Smiling wryly, Xian replied, "You know him well, I see."
"He's my best friend."
"Good, I'm glad. He has need of loyal friends. I ask again, will you join us?"
Ashamed, but unwilling to betray Iroh's testimonial to his honesty, Nikon replied, "Prince, I don't know what else Iroh has told you, but I'm not a warrior. I took up firebending for the wrong reasons, and though I enjoy what I do, I don't really consider myself brave." Stealing himself for a dismissal or worse, he continued, "The truth is, every day we hear more bad news from the front and we see more urns unloaded at the Naval yard. I… I don't want to end up in one of them."
Nikon dropped his gaze to look down at his feet. His head felt heavy, as if gravity were working twice as hard to pull him to the ground. He had not expected the morning to go this way, and at this rate he'd be better off going back to his father's house and hiding in the basement. That is, if Prince Xian didn't have him executed for the cowardice he'd just confessed.
After a moment, Xian spoke. "Look at me."
Nikon complied, meeting the Prince's steady gaze. "You are brave. You just told the truth, however ugly, to someone who might have killed you if they didn't like the answer. There is no shame in wanting to live, Nikon, and there is no honor or sense in wanting to die for the Fire Lord. I need good men, men of substance, virtue and ability to even have a hope of turning this around. I can't do this alone. Iroh can't do this alone. The fact is our nation is losing this war, and we are pledging our lives, fortunes and sacred honor to the task of redeeming the blood of our fathers and brothers who have passed before us. Will you not help?"
Nikon opened his mouth to protest again, but the words died on his lips. After a moment he replied, "I will, your Highness."
By late morning the clouds had blown away without even a drop of rain, leaving a gloriously sunny day. Iroh and Nikon each stood several feet from the other near the center of the Palace's smaller agni kai arena. Their breathing was labored and sweat rolled down their bare chests. They had been sparring for some time.
"You're a son of a bitch!" spat Nikon through gritted teeth as he split apart a blast of fire from Iroh, his hands steepled in front of him.
"Serves you right, my friend! It's about time you did something constructive instead of…" Iroh struggled to regain his breath, "…spending your nights whoring around the city!"
"Yeh, well, I notice I'm not alone on these nights you speak of, though I've never seen you get much whoring done!"
Iroh aimed a blast of fire at Nikon's lower body. His friend rolled gracefully out of the way and rose to his feet very near Iroh. Nikon turned and swept Iroh's feet out from under him with one of his own in a very liquid maneuver. As he fell, Nikon delivered a blow to Iroh's chest.
The Prince fell to the ground hard, but managed to dissipate some of the force of his collapse by falling flat. Nikon stepped forward. Dark and brooding he loomed over Iroh, his eyes burning with angry fire, his right arm extended in a firebending stance. Iroh shook his head to clear it and looked up. The sun behind Nikon allowed the Prince to see only his silhouette. A drop of salty sweat trickled down into Iroh's eye and began to sting him. Both breathed heavily for a moment in the silence.
Then Iroh laughed, a full belly laugh, though his stomach was taught and his chest muscular. He grabbed his friends outstretched fist with both hands and used it to pull himself to his feet. The fire in Nikon's eyes had died away, leaving only a hollow, downcast look.
"It was a dirty trick," The pauper's son accused sullenly.
"Yes, wasn't it? I knew you wouldn't have any trouble saying "no" to me – you've saved my life once already, but Xian, well, who can refuse my cousin anything? Besides, I could always have gotten an order from my father if I had to. But, would I really have had to do that?"
Nikon looked up at Iroh and then around them at the empty stands before replying.
"No. I've been ashamed for too long, I guess. This is the chance to do something about it. But, I'm not a hero, Iroh. Not like you and Xian. You deserve to be great. I'm just a poor man's son trying to stay alive."
Iroh's smile faded and was replaced with a frown. "If that's what you think, then that's all you'll ever be! Sentiments like that reek of self pity. Put those thoughts away, my friend. You have been called for a different destiny! Accept it. Soon enough I think you'll find that you can survive quite well without the delights of the capital."
A knowing smile spread over Nikon's face as he quoted his friend, saying, "Oh yes, I'll live, but I won't enjoy it. Besides," he continued as his smile became smug, "I know my presence will torture Tien Shin every day we're out there. At least that's something."
The pair retrieved their clothes from the ground nearby and exited the arena. The path up to the hill to the Palace was broken gravel down at this end, but turned quickly into a brick walkway further up. As they began their ascent, several figures came down to meet them. All three carried bows slung across their backs and were evidently headed to the archery range. One of these newcomers was Tien Shin.
Laughing Nikon remarked, "Oh, ho! Speak of the demon himself and he appears! How convenient. You going to let me kill him this time?"
"No," replied the Prince, "If anyone gets to do that, it's going to be me. Just keep quiet."
As the two groups prepared to pass each other, Tien Shin held up a hand to stop his party. Iroh and Nikon stopped as well.
"What do you want, Tien Shin?" asked Iroh bluntly.
"Your Highness," said Nikon with both a sneer and a slight bow in greeting.
Tien Shin's eyes passed briefly over the pauper's son before fixing on Iroh.
"Greetings, brother. Wasting your time again with the peasantry, I see? How sad to see the Crown Prince abase himself in such an unseemly manner. One never ceases to wonder what you see in someone of such low birth."
Unable to resist the opening Nikon replied, "Well, I'll ask Xi Shi after I lie with her tonight. She's told me many times –"
Nikon cut himself off in mid retort as the blade of a beautiful blue enamel war fan was suddenly pressed against his throat. Whatever else he was, Tien Shin was fast. At the first mention of the stolen courtesan, he had drawn his weapon, unfolded it and placed it in the perfect position to cut his jugular. After a moment of silence, Tien Shin smiled and began to speak in his most calculated tone.
"I beg your pardon, have I interrupted your train of thought?" he asked in a mock conversational tone, "Hmm? I guess you weren't saying anything important. That's not unusual."
Tien Shin turned with a look of intense hatred as Iroh grabbed his wrist and pushed his arm and the offending fan away from his friend. Nikon's body relaxed and he took a step back, exhaling the breath he'd been unconsciously retaining.
"Enough, Tien Shin! Your arrogance and audacity astound even me! How dare you take a weapon to a friend of the Crown Prince?"
In one step Iroh stood almost nose to nose with his step brother and, pointing an accusatory figure, bellowed, "Are you so eager for a fight dear "brother"? The agni kai arena stands ready for us. Make your challenge now, or stand aside!"
Tien Shin, several inches taller than Iroh, looked down into the Crown Prince's eyes with cool disdain. Iroh looked back, his cheeks flushed red, and his own eyes ablaze with indignation.
"We have a common enemy to fight, Prince Iroh," lectured Tien Shin, his trademark expression of smugness returning to his face, "I suggest we focus our efforts where they belong. That is the kind of common sense that every ruler needs."
Iroh and Nikon watched in silence as Tien Shin turned and led his party down the path past the agni kai arena.
"I hope you don't take this the wrong way," began Nikon, "but I hope that guy dies while we're over there."
"You're not alone."
