Disclaimer: Didn't create nor could I create a world such as Avatar.
Chapter 13
The Fire Nation palace was quiet. Everyone seemed to be tucked warmly into their beds with only the servants and guards to stroll through the quiet corridors. Iroh was the exception though. He had left Zuko just hours ago being tended to by Mai and Katara. They were worried and they had good reason to. A fever had formed during the day and now in the night he was soaked in an ugly sweat.
The physicians and Katara all promised Mai and Iroh that it was not the wounds from the attack. Nothing was infected and nothing made sense. The present circumstances of current events painfully forced Iroh to remember the old days of the Fire Nation court. There were a few theories swimming through his head and he wished that he did not have the gaul to even think of them.
At first, he thought that a quiet walk alone would ease his mind. He would always worry about Zuko but he had three powerful ladies watching over him. However, he always felt that he had abandoned his nephew to the wolves. Jeong Jeong could always be trusted to steer Zuko and Mai in the right direction and to help protect them. But Zuko spent so many years away from the Fire Nation. Political alliances are strong and not always easy to sniff out. There were lesser branches of the royal family that could be moving to make a bid for the throne. There was always the possibility of a military coup. Even if Azula wasn't behind it, her presence would be enough to ignite any ounce of instability.
Iroh shook his head irritably as he continued to walk. He focused on means of sniffing out any spy or operative within the palace. He had to work, not speculate. He had to think like Azula instead of worry like a mother hen. But it was no use. The fear kept creeping back into his mind and he could not work.
Iroh finally stopped walking and found himself at the top of the palace's stairs. He took a deep breath and was soothed by the hint of the sea air being blown up into the mouth of the volcano. Out there, somewhere, was their only hope to end this peacefully. He knew the young Lady Inara. She would not fail and even if she did, Master Sokka would not let it be.
A sigh escaped him and was echoed by another. Iroh looked over and saw the captain of the guard was also out on a late night stroll. The young man was still in his uniform with his helmet tucked under his arm. The captain did not appear to have noticed Iroh yet as he gazed up into the night sky towards the sea.
"Captain Yuri," Iroh greeted him warmly. "I did not expect to find anyone else out so late at night."
The captain of the guard turned towards Iroh and gave him a bow. "There is no rest for us in times like this."
"That I understand." Iroh gazed up at the stars as Yuri did. "May I inquire on what you may find so interesting in the sky tonight?"
"Just irony," Yuri replied.
Iroh said, "Irony," with a slight huff of a chuckle. "What sort of irony?"
"Would it not have been more appropriate for the Water Tribes to rule the seas?" Yuri questioned. "Isn't it slightly ironic that the children of fire are seen far and wide on the open water?"
"Perhaps it was different in the old times. Perhaps it was our fiery nature that drove us beyond our borders and forced the Water Tribe to close theirs." Iroh looked over at the captain. "Were you not meant to be part of the navy?"
Yuri glanced away from the stars to the ground with a shadow of a smile. "You have a good memory general. Unlike some of our ancestors, I could not take to the sea. I remained at home as a member of the Royal Guard. There was no glory but then again things did get a bit sketchy during the eclipse."
Iroh nodded remembering that day. Azula and his brother had played a wild card. They knowingly put their guards in danger. They would be defenseless during the eclipse but in the end they held the winning hand. It was like a well orchestrated strategy on a pai sho board. Yuri survived as well as almost everyone else.
"I must speak to you," Iroh said in a low voice.
Yuri immediately understood. He casually sidled over towards Iroh. He did not immediately walk up to Iroh though. Yuri paced a short track back and forth near Iroh.
"The Fire Lord has a horrid fever," Iroh muttered under his breath to the ground when Yuri passed.
Yuri nodded and circled around. "I heard," he said in passing. Captain Yuri finally settled his footing and stood next to Iroh. "I fear I know what you are going to say next."
"I believe there is someone inside the palace."
Yuri nodded at Iroh's words. "And that was what I was afraid you would say."
It seemed that the stars and the moon gave Yuri comfort. He immediately began to stare up into the darkness again.
Iroh said, "We must sniff him out."
"Agreed," Yuri said. "But that will not be an easy task."
"There are no easy tasks in this palace."
"It seems easy enough to slip a bit of poison into the Fire Lord's food."
Yuri's statement ruffled Iroh's nerves. Iroh glared up at the young man with a fire building up within him. But being the captain of the guard under a Fire Lord such as Zuko did have its effect. Yuri was accustomed to random outbursts of anger. Even Mai could be short tempered and one never wanted to be around when Zuko and Mai had a little spat.
"There is still no proof," Iroh grumbled.
"A mysterious fever along with the lack of an infection," Yuri noted quietly with Iroh knowing the truth. "Do you have a better, more feasible explanation than poison?
Iroh narrowed his eyes in irritation and defeat. "You don't have to patronize me."
"It is only time until Master Katara is able to extract the poison from him," Yuri said. "Hopefully the damage is not too severe for her and the physicians to heal and this will be nothing but a bad memory."
"It seems like his entire life has been a bad memory."
"Life is never easy for royals."
Iroh shook his head and ordered, "You must find him," to Yuri. In near despair, Iroh stalked away. He paused though for a moment and looked back at Yuri. The young man had resumed his observation of the stars. What could be so interesting? Iroh had no time to think on the matter any further. He had to get to work if Zuko was to survive.
He knew that his order to Yuri would put the young man to work. It would feel like a tyrant's hand slamming down onto the palace's dealings. There was no avoiding it. If anyone in the palace was a traitor or harboring a traitor then it must be done. If someone was poisoning the Fire Lord, what would stop them from poisoning Mai, Katara, or Toph?
Iroh turned down a hidden corridor that the servants used. It was meant to keep them out of sight and out of mind. In years past, these forgotten corridors have been used in plots and treason. The servants were accustomed to Iroh using these corridors. In his youth, he would sneak around the palace looking for mischief. After his humiliation at Ba Sing Se, he would hide from generals and ministers while he dealt with his grief.
Two servants passed him in the dim torch light. They bowed their heads and allowed him to pass. Between them, they held a large basket of linens. Iroh wondered if there were any hidden weapons or a small vile of poison within the sheets. However, he knew that it was best that he not investigate himself. He would have to leave this task to Yuri and his own small faction of men that were trained in these matters.
Iroh continued on. He was not sure where he was going. His feet continued through the corridors with his heart hoping that he would open a door and find himself back in the Jasmine Dragon. Being a man of war, he knew it was only a fool's hope. He was stuck in this inferno until the end. The end would only result in the capture of his niece.
"I thought I would find you hear," he heard a small voice whisper.
Iroh whirled around and saw a white face in the fire light. The light reflected off of glazed eyes that stared blankly towards him.
"Lady Toph," Iroh breathed. "I did not realize you were here."
"I heard you walking in the walls," she admitted. "It took me a while to figure out how to get in. What brings you here?"
"What do you think brings me here?"
He could see a small smile on her face.
"You heard more than me walking in the walls," he guessed.
"Perhaps, but it doesn't take a fool to guess poison. I am from an aristocratic family."
"Not to mention that all you hear are lies."
Toph turned her head slightly at his statement. "Not all the time," she corrected him. "But in a place like this, the truth is rarely spoken plainly."
Iroh started to walk away and she followed. He knew that she would follow him to the water's edge to pull whatever she wanted from him. Then again, he could rarely resist pouring out his heart to a woman like her. She could hold a secret forever and no one would ever know it was there. Perhaps it was her lack of sight that made it easy for her. She could not immediately see a person's expression that might be able to draw the secret out.
They walked in silence for awhile until Iroh found the door he wanted. He ushered her through the door and out into a garden. It was a little used garden. There was nothing spectacular about it since it had been ordered to be redone. Signs of work and mistakes could be seen everywhere with the tools and a pot of dead plants.
"What else have you heard?" Iroh demanded when he was sure they were alone.
Toph casually bent a seat and sat surprisingly primly upon it. She almost looked like a lady in the faint moonlight besides a warrior in disguise.
"Your nobles are getting cold feet and some are even traitors," she said.
Iroh sighed. "That is not surprising. I need names. Who can we trust?"
"You can trust the Kito family," Toph said.
Iroh cleared his throat. "I already knew that."
"You did? How?"
"That doesn't matter. I need more names."
"Edo," she produced. "There are some in your court who are gravitated towards or away from him. They say that he has aligned himself with the princess. I guess that explains the activity near the Boiling Rock."
"And not to mention that he has a marginal claim to the throne."
"How marginal are we talking about?"
"Let's just say that a small catastrophe would have to happen for him to take the throne," Iroh said. "Who are gravitating towards him?"
"The Toku clan and the Omora clan," she answered. "That is all I know for now. I am still unfamiliar with much of your court and I believe they have become accustomed to not speaking names out loud with me at court."
Iroh shrugged to himself. "They are very educated men. They are not stupid."
"Well, I guess everyone learns to adapt. I'll let Sweetness deal with Zuko. I'll help you and Jeong Jeong deal with the nobles. Now, if you will excuse me, I must be wandering off now before someone thinks it odd that we are conversing in secret like this."
Toph then walked easily into the darkness. Iroh could see the moon reflecting off of her shiny, black hair before she disappeared behind a column. He was sure she would return to Zuko's door to keep careful guard. She was possibly their most powerful weapon and he was glad that she counted him as a friend.
For a moment, he contemplated sleep. It almost seemed like a forgotten myth. Iroh figured that he had not gotten a full night's sleep since he left Ba Sing Se. He had taken to the habit of stealing long naps here and there while back in the palace. Part of it was him being too busy with Zuko being constantly ill in bed. Unfortunately, another factor was his fear of being murdered in his sleep. He had lived a full life but he was not ready for it to be over yet.
In the end, reason won the debate. He would become ineffective once his mind started to go due to a lack of sleep. Out of habit, his legs carried his weary body back to his rooms that he still kept in the palace. The lights were dimmed and he saw that the bed was already turned down. His groom was ahead of him already. Then again the bed has been waiting steadily like this for days.
Iroh did not bother to change. He just fell onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling. It was calm and quiet in his private rooms. There was no one watching him or prodding him for a favor or information. He exhaled slowly and breathed in the familiar scent of good tea and spices. However, as hard as he tried, he could not sleep. His eyes refused to close and his mind would not stop going through scenario after scenario. It was impossible.
"Drat," he groaned to himself in accepting his fate.
Iroh sat up on his bed and looked out at the window at the stars. He hoped that Princess Yue was looking over her mortal lover. He would need as much help as he could get to catch Azula and to keep up with Inara. Everything hinged on this one mission. Iroh could give up sleep until Azula was brought to justice. However, he could not let Zuko lose his throne.
Time was running out. Nobles were anxious and there was the unsettling report of activity near the Boiling Rock. Things were happening too quickly for them. Zuko had to get better. If Katara could not heal him, then they were all lost.
***
"What are we here for?" Sokka asked Inara as they walked into an unsavory looking bar.
Inara gave him a shrewd smile. Sokka was happy that it was any kind of a smile after he almost dislocated her shoulder again. She had been rather quiet around him since he yanked on her bad arm and he noticed it hung rather precariously at her side.
"We're running low on supplies," she answered quietly. "And it would be nice to have a descent meal for once."
Sokka's stomach rumbled. They had spent the past two days on whatever they could scrounge. It was descent eating but not really that great. He was beginning to tire of chewing on roots and berries in between small servings of meat.
"This place serves just about anyone without too many questions," Inara continued. "We can get a hot meal to go along with supplies for the road."
"Then this is my kind of place," Sokka replied.
Inara pointed towards a counter. A large man stood behind it with a balding head and an ugly beard. The apron he wore was covered in stains but steam was rising from the pots and pans before him.
"I'll get the supplies," she said. "Just make sure you order enough food for all of us."
"Trust me, I will," Sokka answered.
Inara did not doubt this. She handed Sokka a rather heavy pouch of coins. He smiled to himself as he felt the pouch and estimated the contents. He could get quite a bit of rice, steamed vegetables, and best of all…meat. Yes, before Inara could take three steps away, he was eyeing a large hunk of komodo-rhino meat slowly turning on its spoke over the fire. In the past, Sokka had found the style of preparation of the meat too fiery for his taste but he soon began to appreciate it. On a day like this, he could appreciate any sort of seasoned meat.
Sokka confidently walked up to the counter and threw the entire pouch of coins before the man. The man looked down at the pouch and then up at Sokka's smug smile.
"May I help you?" the man asked.
"Give me that hunk of meat and whatever rice and vegetables this can buy," Sokka ordered as he leaned on the table.
The man picked up the pouch of coins. He weighed it in his hand carefully before he peaked inside. Sokka found himself smiling as a smile spread across the man's face.
"Very well," the man said in a deep throated chuckle. "Whatever the young master requests."
Sokka shrugged liking the way "master" was used for once. He brushed his finger nails across the front of his robes as he watched the man pull the meat from the fire and carefully wrap it in paper. The man then barked a few orders at a woman in the back. She yelled back but Sokka could not make out what she said from the noise in the bar.
"It will be only a moment on the rest of your order," the man said. "May I interest you in some beer? I am fortunate enough to have Asahi beer."
Sokka liked the sound of that. "Yeah, why not?" he said.
The man hurried away to put the rest of the order together. Sokka looked back to find Inara. He wanted to tell her of the bountiful feast that he had just ordered for them. But she wasn't there. Initially, Sokka was not too concerned. She had already said she was off to see a man about supplies. Then he realized he did not know how he would find her again. He decided that if he hadn't spotted her by the time the food was ready he would make a quick sweep around the bar and then quickly exit. Orso was seeing a man about buying four ostrich-horses. He knew where that was. Surely he would find a large human being haggling over four beasts.
Sokka waited and waited. A bell rang and he turned to find large packages of food neatly wrapped and tied with twine. The man beamed down on Sokka. It was obviously the most money he had made at once in a very long time.
"Thank you and come back soon," the man said as he loaded Sokka's arms with food.
The komodo-rhino meat was hot on his arms and it was much larger than he had initially anticipated. The vegetables and rice were wrapped in cheap silk. He could feel the moisture seeping through onto his own clothes. He was about to smell like a buffet.
There was no Inara still. Clumsily, Sokka made a round of the room. He peaked into every dark corner and listened to every hushed conversation. He even risked looking up at the exposed beams wondering if she had some how climbed up that far.
"I tell you she's nearby."
The words stopped Sokka. His heart skipped a beat and his ear pulled his head around.
"That's nothing but a lie."
"No, it is true. The princess is here."
Sokka's ears and his legs were not working in unison. His ears wanted to stay around and listen while his legs pled for him to keep moving. Sokka's arms made a compromise and dropped a small bundle of soft rolls onto the ground. He pretended to slowly dip down to pick them up in order to not topple over his large dinner.
"Well, it doesn't matter. If that whore doesn't pick her off, then one of the Dragons will."
"The Dragons won't do anything. The princess is far out of their league. They deal with pirates and slave traders. Azula is the real deal. They have probably high-tailed it to the other side of the Earth Kingdom in fear of her."
Sokka highly doubted that considering the slave ship and its cargo that they had found.
"Well, here or not, I intend to stay out of her way."
"Come on, you can't tell me you don't want things to go back to normal. Aren't you tired of hiding in these wretched green clothes? We ruled the world."
"No, the Fire Lord ruled the world."
"Whatever, but we were his people. We reap the benefits of his victory. Now that traitor sits on the throne. What did we get? Nothing is what we got."
"And nothing is what we will get from the princess."
Sokka glanced up for a second. He saw Inara coming down the stairs of the bar with large bags thrown over her shoulder. He did not want her to see him. He did not want any attention drawn to him. He ducked down lower and watched as she handed the bags off to a lad. She paid him a few coins and away he went. Sokka imagined that he would take the supplies to Orso.
"And you need to stay out of trouble," the more hesitant of the men said.
"I don't know. It is pretty enticing. I might know more than you think. I might know more than I let on."
"Excuse me," a voice wrapped Sokka over the head. "Do you need some help there?"
Sokka gritted his teeth. He heard the nearby conversation cease and two chairs quickly be pushed back. Sokka quickly picked up his discarded pouch and smoothly stood upright.
The two men whom he had been spying on were on their feet glaring at him. Sokka immediately recognized them as former Fire Nation soldiers. They had the trademark gold eyes and the stance of pomp and arrogance.
"Well, what do we have here?"
Sokka recognized this voice. He was all too eager to hear of Azula's supposed presence.
"Do we have a spy?" he continued.
"Come on," the other man urged. "He's got a lot there. He just doesn't want to drop anything."
"Yeah, exactly what he said," Sokka concurred.
"No, he's spying," and a finger was shoved into Sokka's chest.
Sokka stepped back. His sword was left hidden outside of town and he could not get to the hidden blade in his boot.
"Listen, I don't want any trouble. I'm just hungry," Sokka said.
"No…I know what you are. You are…"
"FIGHT!"
Suddenly a chair was thrown across the room. Sokka dropped all of his food and dodged the chair. The two conspirators also dodged. Unfortunately, an oversize, bald, and angry man did not. He was hit square in the head and it only nudged his head forward. The room became dead silent as the man stood and stared down at the three.
"Who threw it?" he demanded through gritted teeth.
"He did!" Sokka heard a familiar voice
Sokka whirled his head around. Inara was standing at the stairs still with her finger pointed directly at him.
"Me?" he nearly screamed at her in horror.
The man did not hesitate. He grabbed Sokka by the front of her clothes and picked him up off the ground. Sokka hesitated for a moment as the man brought him up to eye level.
"And what do you have to say for yourself?" he asked Sokka.
"Watch your head," Sokka replied
The man narrowed his eyes at Sokka in confusion just as a bottle shattered over his head.
"BAR FIGHT!" Inara yelled from her post.
The man immediately dropped Sokka and joined in the full out brawl. Men were jumping onto other men's backs swinging empty bottles of beer wildly in the air. The two conspirators were not deterred though. They had been pushed away in the sea of bodies but they angrily swam towards him. Sokka glanced over at the stairs and had lost sight of Inara but then he felt himself being swept away.
"Let's get out of here," Inara yelled over the ruckus.
"He did it…he did it? Is that all you could have thought of?" Sokka demanded.
"I got you out of it didn't I?"
A man backed up into Inara. She was pushed back into Sokka and so he pulled her around. He took the lead now pulling her.
"There he is!" he heard faintly in the crowd.
"This better be worth it," Inara muttered.
Sokka shook his head as he squeezed between two brawlers and then through the door. They nearly fell onto the ground outside the bar. It was a stark difference on the quiet street to the anarchy inside the bar. They paused to appreciate the grand theatrics of life that hey had created that night.
"He's out there!" they heard realizing they were not safe.
"A friend of yours?" she asked coyly.
Sokka rolled his eyes and pulled her through the streets. He wished Orso was waiting for them with the ostrich-horses. They could valiantly leap upon the beasts and ride out of town in a cloud of dust. However, the ostrich-horse farmer was on the outskirts of town. They were nearly in the dead middle.
"This way," Inara said nearly pulling Sokka completely around.
She dragged him through an alley and then turned down another one. It was darker and narrower but it was quiet.
"Did they go down that way?" they heard one ask.
"I don't know. I'll go this way and you go take a look down the alley."
"We're trapped," Sokka whispered.
Inara was about to answer but she stopped. There was the strange sound of a moan. Sokka heard a few more followed by soft giggles. He looked around and saw several couples hiding in the shadows. They were quite occupied with each other in their illicit activities.
"Where are we?" Sokka asked in a low voice.
"No idea," Inara responded as she stepped back into the shadows. "I guess we were just lucky."
Sokka heard the heavy footsteps of boots barreling towards them.
"Lucky?" he hissed at her.
Inara grabbed him by the front of his robes and pulled him into the shadows. His body slammed into hers. Sokka's body froze and his mind went blank when she grabbed him around the head and pulled him in for a kiss. At first, his lips lied flat against hers. His arms were stiff by his side. She gently nudged his arms and they moved and wandered down to her waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he moved in closer. A small moan escaped her throat and he began to actually to reciprocate her initial kiss.
The footsteps had slowed to a slow meander. The man moved slowly through the various couples. Some of the moans from the other couples were beginning to quicken into heavy breathing. The man stopped. He knew where he was now. Quietly, he backed up and walked away without anyone really noticing him.
Sokka had nearly lost himself for that moment. It was Inara who paused and pulled her head up over his shoulder. She rested her chin there and took a look around.
"Ok, he's gone," she whispered with her warm breath brushing his ear.
She pushed Sokka away from her and walked slowly through the alley. She looked around the corner and motioned for Sokka to follow. But Sokka was left standing still facing the wall. His forehead rested on the cold building that she was once pushed up against.
"Come on before he comes back," she whispered harshly at him.
"Hey…quiet down there," someone hissed.
With his senses coming back to him, Sokka pushed off the wall. He aimlessly walked towards her as she continued to keep watch. When the moment was right, she slipped around the corner dragging his useless body behind her.
"Great idea," he muttered.
"It got the job done," she returned. "Orso should have the ostrich-horses by now. Let's get out of here before we're found."
