We care for orphans not because we are rescuers, but because we are the rescued.
~ David Platt.
"Prince Luten, you have a meeting with the maid attendants from the tailor chambers. Your ceremonial robes need to be fitted for your crowning."
The prince looked up from the letter he was writing and replied to the servant.
"Oh yes I will be on my way, but first I will need to visit the Royal Academy can it wait?"
"Yes, your majesty, I will send a message to the tailors"
Luten stood up from his desk folding the letter he had been writing.
"Alright Mushin, get the palanquin ready"
"Yes your majesty"
Mushin exited the room and the soon to be crown prince of the Fire Nation made his way down the halls of the palace. It was almost his twenty-first birthday and it was time to meet his fate. A new crown would sit on his head as the Crown Prince and future Firelord. All his lessons and training he had undergone was to set him for this upcoming moment.
He strolled along the halls of the palace and found himself approaching the war room of the officials. The councilmen were exiting the council room talking amongst themselves. He noticed some officials in green robes and quickly remembered that today was his fathers first official meeting with the council and ambassadors. Since he wasn't crown prince yet, he was not permitted to attend these meetings.
He caught sight of Zhao and an uneasy feeling rose in his stomach. Now that he had been demoted by his father, he wondered what the snake was up to now.
Zhao also noticed the future crown prince as well, he dismissed the officials he was speaking to and approached the prince with a calculating smile.
"Prince Luten" he bowed mockingly.
Offended at the man's reluctance to address him respectfully, he decided to return the favor.
"Admiral Zhao, oh my apologies" he chuckled. "I mean Commander Zhao".
Zhao's smile was quickly replaced with a scowl, but he continued on.
"Correct me if I'm mistaken, but I thought members of the royal family could not appear in or around the council room. Not unless they were Crown Prince or specially invited by the Firelord himself."
Rolling his eyes he retorted.
"I'm quite aware of the customs commander, I was just on my way to see the tailors regarding fitting my robes for the crown prince ceremony."
"Ah your coronation?" Zhao quirked an eyebrow in curiosity
"Yes it's coming up in a couple days actually" Luten uneasiness began to set in again, and he was unable to shake it off.
"So soon? Well then, I would not miss that for the world" He smirked.
Right, Luten thought to himself but flashed a smile to the man.
"Ha, Not a problem commander Zhao. I will be sure to mention you in my speech" the prince joked and decided now would be the perfect opportunity to leave.
"Well, till then commander" he chuckled and gave Zhao a pat on the shoulder.
"Of course, your majesty"
Zhao bowed to the prince as he left. Once he was out of sight his vein bulged and his smile was replaced with a scowl. For one, who did that brat think he was to disrespect his status. Secondly, the tailor's chambers were definitely not in this direction. Lastly, if his coronation was soon, Zhao realized that Iroh wanted Ozai to take no part it.
The coronation was supposed to take place the next month and the Firelord's brother was also not expected to return until he visited Omashu. In fact, Ozai had just arrived in Ba Sing Se, his trip to Omashu was a while away. The commander needed to contact Ozai as soon as possible to let him know of the news, he also reminded himself to investigate where Luten was really heading to later.
Luten made his way out into the court yard, glad to be away from Zhao. He entered the palanquin currently awaiting him, while Mushin and some other servants walked beside him. The ride to the Royal Academy for boys wasn't too far away. After all, it was a school for the children of the royals and nobles to attend. So, it was very convenient for royalty to go. Luten knew he could've taken the tunnel passages but decided against it.
As he stepped out some students bowed to him, while others stared in awe at their prince.
"Luten"
He wiped he head to the direction of his name and saw a wide-eyed boy running towards him. He had grey eyes, brown shaggy hair, which he tied back with a headband that was supposed to be the school's uniform waist belt. A big grin plastered on the boys face he made his way to him.
"Aang!"
The young boy came up to hug the prince, but Mushin stepped in.
"Where are your manners young man"
A realization struck him and he straightened his posture, giving Luten a proper bow with the fist and flame.
Luten laughed waving him off,
"No need to bow Aang, my official coronation ceremony isn't until next tomorrow.
"But you're still a prince and I am just, well, me" he shrugged
Luten squatted to meet the boy's height.
"Aang once you finish school and you become my age you will become a Royal guard. That is very royal don't you think?"
Aang took some time to think it over and grinned in agreement.
"Oh, I almost forgot I have a new trick I want to show you."
Forgetting about their conversation, he pulled the prince along past the other students hanging in the courtyard, they frowned at the boy.
Usually, when Luten came to visit the school, everyone treated Aang nicely but when he was gone he was constantly ridiculed by the young boys. They reached their destination, which was a secluded field and Luten took a seat on the grass.
"Watch this!" Aang mused with excitement.
The child moved his hand in a twisted circular motion, summoning forth gusts of wind and compressing it into a sphere. He hopped on top and began to spin around the field away from the prince laughing with joy. Luten watched Aang in amusement until he collided with one of the trees.
"Aang!" Luten called out after the kid.
"I'm okay"
Luten sighed with relief.
"Did you like my trick?!" He asked as if nothing happened.
"Of course, Aang! Wish I could do the same thing with my fire, but I think I would burn my bottoms!"
The little boy laughed in response to the word bottoms and the prince followed suit.
Luten's father had told him stories of when he was a young boy, how he had saved Aang's relatives and other air nomads from Sozin's genocide and had them protected under the white Lotus. They had been non-benders and were able to blend into society. It wasn't until Aang was born that they realized he would be the official last Airbender. It was hard keeping the child's abilities concealed, but Luten saw him as the little brother he never had. Luckily, Azula had been born around the same time and the death of Ozai's mistress and Zuko's recovery was a good distraction to keep him hidden from the palace.
"What do you say Aang? Care for a little bending battle?"
"Yes! Fighting here with only weapons is so boring! I always get so jealous of the firebenders" he pouted.
"But you should be proud, you are the last Airbender, one of a kind!"
He took some time to ponder this over.
"Yea, I am! Now let's start this, I want to kick your butt!"
"Don't get so confident buddy"
The two took their sparring positions, the prince attacked first, while the Airbender did what he did best by using defensive strategies.
A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed it. I also realized that I made a mistake of addressing Zhao's rank in Chapter 3. I did my research and realized since Zhao is in the navy, he should be demoted to commander not general. I have made that change so it's all good.
Please review, I really enjoy your feedback especially since writing is not my strongest suit. Also, I am currently looking for beta readers, if anyone is interested you can PM me and I will get back to you.
Cheers!