Alright peeps, another update. Enjoy. ^_^

"I don't like it."

The scowl on his face leered over me like a father reprimanding his child. Yet his face betrayed no sense of anger or of malice. He was merely a wall of controlled coolness sitting upon his throne, gazing down at me.

I look the canvas over. His likeness, although slightly exaggerated, stood in bright relief against the national banner in the back ground, staring precisely at the viewer while he held the royal scepter in one hand and a sword that rested on his shoulder on the other. The Leader of the Fire Nation was clad into accouterments of a Roman Emperor of old, dawned in shining black armor and draped with a crimson cape that draped over his left shoulder. All around his visage stood the court below his excellency, looking on with faces of admiration and fear beneath the purple draped platform.

"What do you not like about it sire?" I asked bowing.

"My jaw is much too square. Looks like my face is swollen."

"I gave it an extra touch to enhance your power. I thought it was an improvement from your normal chin."

"Well, change it back." he waved his hands.

I tediously nudge away some of the paint and start tediously correcting the mistake. I look a few times to gauge the correct depth and fill in the places with a few brush strokes. In a few short minutes I show the canvas to him again. The scowl that was on his face disappeared and was replaced by a small smile.

"Much better." he said. "You did an excellent job Senor Mendoza."

I smile. "It's always nice to hear one's work is appreciated."

"Indeed. And amply compensated too." He hands me a few gold coins bearing a cruder rendering of himself on one side with the nation's symbol on the other. These gold coins, I knew, would constitute at least a years salary for any working man. Their rough faces shimmer as I run my thumb over them. I neatly tuck them away in my purse. Where once I was a servant in Portugal, I have become a King myself in this new land, I reflected, and richer than I had ever dreamed.

"Your majesty is most generous."

"A good King is always generous to his loyal follower. After all, that's what keeps them loyal."

"My King seems to be well versed in the art of politics."

"Politics?" he asked an amused. "No, not politics – living. I am the nation, therefore I am politics. I am not well versed on politics, politics are well versed one me. When you are a leader, you must understand, that you will is immovable. To sway, to be fickle; that is to show weakness. And any weakness, when you are a King, can be you're undoing."

He spoke with the aged wisdom of a man of many year but with a charisma that still brimmed with youthful exuberance. "It also" he continued "Requires one to move with the time. A King must be actively aware of his changing environment, otherwise he cannot adapt. Versatility, I mean, is the key to survival. Something my father sorely lacked..."

He paced to the window and looked out into the sun as if in deep contemplation. "Which, in the end, was his undoing. He failed to see the greater potential of what was around him, the prospects of power that lay far out of his reach." he paused, "The dangers that lurked within his very palace."

My hand fidgets a bit as turns to me again. For a moment I swore I could have perceived in his face a feeling of a extreme sadness; a momentary glint of the eyes that testified to some inner burden that was consuming his very soul, only to quickly disappear again beneath his regal facade. "But that is neither here nor there." he said at last. "The past is the past and I am perfectly content for it to stay that way."

"You highness does seem most wise."

It was then that the chamber doors flew open with a resounding clatter. It was quite unusual. Usually a herald would announce if someone requested an audience with his highness. Instead, a dark haired girl who I had never seen before stepped through the door unannounced. She had all the foreboding of a terrible calamity about her. The darkness under her eyes combined with an uncaring glance made her terrifying sight.

"Ah!" the King said standing up. "Lady Mai, my most trusted servant." The King's demeanor changed from a one of serious contemplation to almost a gleeful state.

The Lady approached the King without any formality or reverence. Instead, she practically leaped into the embrace of his arms and the two kissed passionately. I had never known the King to keep mistresses, which is why this display of affection came as such a shock to me when I beheld it. I cleared my throat as I heard her whisper something in his ear. His momentary happiness faded just as soon as it had appeared.

When the lady was finished, she curtly turned and walked out of the room like she had entered it. When the door clanged shut the King began again. "I have some rather unsettling news."

"What kind of news?"

"My worst fear has come to fruition : my sister is with child."

"Whose?"

"The Avatar's."

"The so called 'Master of the Elements'"?

"Yes, the very same. If news of this gets out it will mean...civil war!"

"But you are the rightful King, are you not? Surely an illegitimate heir could have no say-so,"

"It's more than that. His power is spiritual. I have done well to keep him locked away and discovering his potential, but if word gets out that the Avatar has a child who might have a claim to the throne, it might cause people to question this new order I have worked so hard to establish."

"But how? Questioning is not the same as rebelling. Surely you can't expect as much from a person who is still a boy, can you?"

He props himself up on his chair. "There are rumors of a disturbance in the West. Word has reached my ears that a young insurgent has gathered together a group of partisans and dissidents who are aimed and destroying this empire and restore "balance". While they are small, they are of no concern, but if their cause was to gain legitimacy...it could develop into an open revolt that could cause untold devastation."

"What do you plan to do my Lord?"

He sighs a bit and replied in a hallow voice that sounded like that of a man half-dead himself: "The Avatar and my sister have both outlived their usefulness."

"Surely you don't intend to kill your own blood?" My heart ran cold at the thought of the princess's death.

He didn't utter a reply. Instead he stared, his piercing eyes looking straight through me. Finally he looked off to one side and spoke again in a much quieter voice. "No." He looks back at me, "But do not forget, Senor Mendoza, that I can shut my nation to your people, just as easily as I opened it."

I stood for a moment, too terrified to move while the King sat on his sitting stool, his eyes in his hands. I bow to him, and then turn to leave. Before I take two steps I hear his voice behind me. "So you're leaving?"

I slowly turn back to him. "Only for a while my lord. Time to think..."

He made his words sharp and precise as a razor. "Mark my words Mendoza; there will be blood." And with that, I departed, and never looked back.