46. Fear(150)
Something thumped against the bottom of the table.
"Mom, Azula kicked me."
"I know," Ursa said. At the head of the table, Ozai smiled.
A moment later, she heard another thump. "Stop it," Zuko hissed across the table. Azula giggled. "Mom, make her stop."
"Azula, be nice to your brother."
Ozai's smirk faltered. He set his chopsticks down. "Perhaps you two should continue your game elsewhere," he said, voice quiet, commanding. Threatening. At once, the children abandoned the table. Azula chased Zuko into the corridor.
Ursa regarded Ozai from her seat. After several minutes, she heard Zuko yell from the corridor. "That's not funny!"
Azula giggled.
Ursa picked up her cup of tea. "You shouldn't pit them against each other like this."
"Giving orders to the Fire Lord? How bold."
She repressed a shudder, bowing her head. "Of course not."
Ursa would never admit it, but sometimes she feared Ozai.
47. Shirshu
June tossed her prisoner onto the ground. "Here's your guy."
Her client hesitated "You found him? I'd heard rumors, but—"
"Whatever." Her fingers flexed, demanding payment.
"Right." The man whistled. "Nyla!"
Nyla?
Behind her, something shuffled. June reached for the dagger at her belt. A brown and black creature emerged from a barn, snuffling at the ground. June stared. "A shirshu? Really?"
"Please. She's all I can offer."
June snatched the whip from his hand and approached the creature. Might be useful, she decided, whistling to the shirshu.
Nyla sat, scratching herself. Or . . . himself, June realized.
Awkward.
48. Piers
Mai sat on the pier, watching Zuko's ship disappear. Ozai had decided there would be no fanfare, no ceremonies, for his banished son. Stopping by to see Zuko off would've resulted in punishment. But bribing port security had been easy enough.
A storm brewed in her heart, but no emotion reached her face. Mai stared at the choppy waters. Here, one lived by the rules of the Fire Lord, without question. Though her status protected her from severe punishment, she couldn't afford the royal family's ire.
But I can wait for Zuko to return, she thought. And he will, someday.