Disclaimer – all original Avatar: The Last Airbender characters in this fanfic (excluding my OC's) are the property of Bryana Konietzko and Michaela Dante DiMartino.
Chapter 34. A Royal Visit.
The next day – Fire Nation Capital, Hari Bulkan, Weng's Residence, Huo's Room.
Huo yawned and stretched on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He had trouble sleeping that night since his mind circled around the firebending duel. He had no difficulties winning the Agni Kai, but he felt excited after it ended. Seeing Genjei on his knees, sobbing and apologizing for what he said and did, gave him a certain amount of satisfaction and rush. Huo was aware that it was all the general's plot, but he surely didn't tell Genjei to attack Ty Lee. He did that on his own volition, and he needed to pay the price.
When Huo and Weng escorted Ty Lee home before heading back to the residence, the boy was nervous that her mom would be upset with him. He did promise to keep her safe, and she almost ended up burned. Weng explained everything, and Huo apologized, but Ty Lee immediately said that it was somewhat her fault for getting between him and Genjei.
Ty Lee was very loyal to the people she considered friends, and Huo greatly respected her for that. To his relief, the woman was angry at the general instead and praised Huo for his bravery in challenging an older boy, who almost injured Ty Lee, to an Agni Kai. She was also impressed that Huo won the duel and made the boy apologize for what he did. To summarise, everything turned out okay.
Huo sighed and decided to get up. The day was too beautiful to spend it all in bed. When he walked behind the folding screen and began to change, Weng entered the room.
"Morning, Huo," he said and sat down at the table.
"Morning," Huo replied from behind the folding screen. "Any Agni Kais planned for today?"
"Heh, not today," Weng smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. "In fact, I don't think any of your peers will accept or challenge you to an Agni Kai after that spectacle. You did a great job, but there's one thing I need to talk with you about. Yesterday, before you began your Agni Kai, Commander Hen Shei said to me that you behaved strangely. You snickered and had a creepy smile when you were telling her what happened. She assumed it's related to the death of your mother, which we both know that's not the case. Can you explain?"
Huo was silent for a moment. He could lie and say it was an act, but Weng would learn the truth sooner or later. Plus, it was no harm in telling him about his problem, of course, without mentioning his flames. "When I get really angry, I behave like that," the boy explained. "Instead of screaming in anger, I chuckle and smile sinisterly. It intensifies the more angrier I get until I simply laugh maniacally. Will that be a problem?"
"Hmmm..." Weng narrowed his brown-colored eyes and began to think. "So when Genjei burned Ty Lee's sleeve, you got angry for real."
"Yes," Huo confirmed. "Insults don't really bother me, but when someone hurts my friends, then I get mad."
"I'll remember that," Weng replied, stroking his chin. "It is an interesting situation for us because some nobles may find it creepy and could be scared of you, but I don't think Azulon and his family would be that much bothered by it. Let's be honest, they only care about power, not someone's mental issues. So unless you start attacking everyone around you with a maniacal laughter, it's not a problem and we can use that to our advantage."
"Heh, you don't have to worry about that," Huo assured.
"Good," Weng replied and stood up. "You can rest today. You definitely earned it, but stay home in case we'll have visitors."
"And by visitors you mean members of the royal family?" Huo asked, walking fully clothed from behind the folding screen.
"Exactly," Weng nodded, leaving the room.
Sometime later – Fire Nation Capital, Hari Bulkan, Weng's Residence.
After they ate dinner, Huo went to the back garden to train while Weng sat in his study and read a book. He didn't tell his servants and staff why, but he told them to tidy the residence. He knew that sooner or later, they'd have important guests.
As he read, a servant entered his study, and since he didn't knock, it was undoubtedly important. When the nobleman turned his head, he noticed that the servant had a pretty nervous expression. "Master Weng, I'm sorry to bother you, but Fire Princess Ursa and Prince Zuko have just arrived and requested to speak with you," he announced.
Weng closed the book with a sly smile and quickly got up from his chair. He immediately left the room and reached the staircase. When he began to descend it, he immediately spotted Ursa and Zuko. The two members of the royal family stood in the foyer surrounded by three of his servants, who were prostrating themselves before them.
"Princess Ursa," Weng knelled before the woman once he reached the bottom of the staircase. "If I would know about your arrival, I would order to prepare a proper welcome."
"There's no need for that, mister Weng," Ursa reassured with a gentle smile and placed her hand on Zuko's shoulder, who looked at his mother and smiled. "Our visit here is rather spontaneous, but since we're here, we want to offer our condolences for the loss of your wife."
"Thank you," Weng replied and stood up. "I'm guessing that's not the purpose of your visit."
"Yesterday, Zuko saw your son's Agni Kai and couldn't stop talking about it," Ursa explained. "He really wanted to meet him."
"Of course," Weng replied, suppressing the urge to smile widely, and gestured to the side. "Huo is currently training in the garden. This way, please."
Another swift kick and another blue-colored arc hit the training dummy. A fire jab, followed by a frontal kick, hit the one next to it. Wanting to end the training session with something powerful, Huo closed his orange-colored eyes and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes and extended his arm towards the third training dummy.
A blue fire appeared in front of his hand, but Huo didn't launch at the training dummy just yet. Instead, he began to pressurize it before attempting to release it. The fire began to stretch forward with a whistling sound as if trying to break free from the boy's grasp.
Finally, Huo released the attack, and a large stream of blue fire was launched at the training dummy. The boy felt the power trying to push him backward, but he held his ground. The hot flames engulfed the training dummy whole and formed a spinning column of blue fire. Huo ceased generating the fire and exhaled, not wanting to burn the whole garden.
"Wooahh!" Huo heard someone's voice behind him and turned around.
Aside from Weng, he spotted a boy his age, who watched him with wide-open eyes, and an adult woman, who stood behind the boy. The woman was beautiful with fair skin, golden eyes, and a back-length, dark brown hair with a top knot adorned with a gold-colored two-pronged headpiece in the traditional flame shape, held in place by a gold hair stick.
She wore a double-layered detachable red-colored triangular cloud shoulder collar with a yellow-white coloring around the neck. Her elegant, red-colored flowing robe had a dark-red sash wrapped around the waist and wide, hanging sleeves with gold brims.
Just like the woman, the boy had golden eyes and light skin. His black hair was tied into a high ponytail with a red ribbon.
He wore a dark-red sleeveless tunic over a red shirt, and a brown sash was whipped around his waist. His forearms were covered by black-yellow oversleeves. He wore a pair of brown-red shin coverings over light brown pants with matching brown-red shoes with curved tips.
When Huo approached them, he looked enquiringly at Weng. "Huo, this is Fire Princess Ursa and her son, Prince Zuko," Weng introduced the two guests. Huo realized he stood before the royal family members, so he took a knee.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Huo," Ursa replied kindly, giving Huo a slight nod. Zuko did the same. "I'm sorry for what happened with your mother," added the woman. "I'm sure she'd be glad to know that you safely returned home to your father."
"Thank you for your kind words," Huo replied and got up. Since he was now looking at the young prince from up close, he noticed that Zuko was as slim as he was but slightly shorter.
"My son saw your Agni Kai and was really impressed by your skill," Ursa added, looking at Zuko, who immediately asked. "Where you afraid?"
"Nah," Huo shook his head with a slight smile. "I saw and experienced so many scary stuff in my life, that there's not much that can scare me anymore. Even though it was my first Agni Kai, it was nothing in comparison to the things I've been through and besides, firebending..." Huo casually lifted his hand and conjured small blue flames from each of his fingertips. "...is a thing I'll never be afraid off."
"How did you get that scar?" Zuko asked another question, pointing at Huo's face.
"Zuko! It's rude to ask such a question," Ursa scolded the prince, causing him to lower his head in shame. "I'm sorry," he apologized.
"It's alright, there's nothing wrong with being curious," Huo reassured, lowering his hand. "An Earth Kingdom soldier attacked me, bending a sharp rock from beneath my feet. I managed to jump back at the last second, but the sharp end still cut my skin and left a scar. Still, I'm proud of it. My scars are the proof of my bravery, and they also look cool."
Zuko was looking at Huo admiringly while Weng observed the prince from the side, noticing his expression. "Princess Ursa, how about you let the young prince stay and play with my son?" the nobleman suggested. "The boys could get to know each other and Huo could show him a trick or two."
"Oh! Can I!?" Zuko whipped his head around and looked at his mother. Ursa thought for a moment and smiled. "Yes, you can, dear," she agreed. "Play nice, and I'll come back for you later."
"Okay!" Zuko replied excitedly.
Weng smiled and looked at Huo. "I tell the staff to bring you some refreshments and sweets," he said, after which he escorted Ursa out of the garden, leaving the boys alone.
Huo suggested staying in the garden to enjoy the sunny day and the fresh grape juice. The two boys sat on the grass and had a friendly conversation. Zuko had a lot of questions regarding Huo's orange-colored eyes and his adventures. Of course, when Huo mentioned that he was touched by a phoenix spirit, Zuko got even more interested. The young prince listened carefully as Huo told him about his adventures, and with each, he became increasingly immersed in them.
"Man, I can't believe you survived on your own for two years," Zuko said with awe in his voice. His expression became serious and somewhat sad. "I'm sorry about your mom. I can't imagine how that must've feel. I'm sure you miss her."
"Every day," Huo nodded with a feint smile. Zuko turned out to be a well-behaved, kind boy, which was a pleasant surprise for Huo. Then again, his mom was very kind, so it made sense that her son took after her. "But she trained me well and that saved my life on multiple occasions," he stated.
"Yes, your firebending skills are awesome!" Zuko acknowledged, perking up. "I mean you can generate lightning at such a young age! I only saw my father and uncle do that! No wonder you defeated Genjei!"
"I hope he wasn't your friend," Huo replied, but Zuko shook his head.
"No, he wasn't," he reassured and frowned. "In fact, I didn't really like him. We had a fight once, well more like a training session, and he defeated me. He was real jerk so watching him getting humiliated was satisfying. Why did you fight anyway?"
"Well, at first, he insulted me and my father," Huo explained. "That was already enough for me to challenge him to an Agni Kai, and I wanted to make it quick for him, but when Ty Lee tried to stop us, he burned her sleeve. That really made me mad, and I decided to really make him suffer and force him to apologize for what he did to Ty Lee."
"Huh, he had it coming," Zuko stated while nodding.
"Heh, you should've seen his face when his pants hit the ground," Huo chuckled. "I didn't want to say it in front of your mother, but I was worried that my fire knive would cut his undies as well. Now that would be terrifying."
"Haha!" Zuko laughed, but after a moment, he sighed. "Man I wish I could be at least as half as good at firebending as you. You're a prodigy like my younger sister!"
"Azula, right?" Huo asked, narrowing his orange-colored eyes. "Ty Lee and Mai mentioned her."
"Yeah," Zuko nodded and turned his head to the side. "Azula is much better at firebending than me. She's my father's favorite, and she loves to remind me of my inferiority, especially when our father is around. She makes stupid nicknames and enjoys making fun of me."
Zuko looked at Huo and straightened up. "Can you please show me how to be better at firebending?" the young prince asked, bowing his head.
Huo's eyes widened. He was expecting to be asked since Weng suggested it, but not in such a way. "Emmm... sure," the boy agreed, shrugging his shoulders. "Although, to be fair, I never taught anyone before. I need to see what you can do first." He pointed with his thumb at the area around the training dummies. "Come on. We'll duel briefly, and I'll see what needs improvement from there."
When Huo stood up and walked over to the training dummies, Zuko quickly followed him. "Alright," Huo rolled his shoulders and took a fighting stance. "I'll focus on defence while you attack. Don't hold back."
"Okay," Zuko also took a stance and prepared to conjure a flame. With a thrust, the young prince created an orange flame. It was tiny and barely reached Huo, who simply hit it with a gentle jab and extinguished it without much effort. The young prince stepped forward and spun around, trying to conjure a flame with a spinning kick. He managed to launch an attack, but not only was it off target, but Zuko also lost his balance and fell over.
Huo didn't expect some mastery-level firebending, but it was worse than he had imagined. It was no wonder Genjei defeated him. Zuko took a few deep breaths, got back to his feet, and jumped, conjuring another flame with a kick. Even though the flame reached Huo, the boy once again effortlessly extinguished it with a light punch. Zuko, however, instead of landing on his feet, slipped and landed on his bum.
"Are you okay?" Huo asked, feeling bad for the prince.
Zuko sighed and hung his head. "My firebending sucks!" he complained, feeling embarrassed.
Huo approached Zuko and offered him his hand. The prince looked at him and accepted it. "Do you have a firebending teacher?" Huo asked.
"Yes, Master Kunyo," Zuko answered. "He trains me and my sister."
"Hmmm... it's not my place to judge his training methods, but your firebending lacks proper basics," Huo pointed out. "Maybe because of your sister's talent, he rushes your training, I don't know, but before you start spinning and jumping around, your basics need to be solid as the ground your walking on. Not to mention I think there's another problem."
"Huh? What problem?" Zuko asked.
"Take a horse stance," Huo instructed. "Do a fire fist with your right hand, then follow with a front fire kick with your left leg. Then a fire fist with your left hand and a front fire kick with your right leg. Keep going until I say stop."
"O-Okay," Zuko didn't really understand what for, but he complied, taking the stance. He began to quickly make the moves as Huo watched from the side. As he repeated them, Zuko's flames rapidly became smaller, and Huo realized why.
"Alright, that's enough," Huo said, and Zuko stooped, turning his head to look at him. The young prince was tired, and his breathing was erratic. "First of all, your breathing was not in sync with your moves. You did good at the start, but you were punching and kicking too hard and that caused you to get tired. Firebending comes from our breath, not the muscles. You can't just clench your fist, threw a punch with all your strength and expect a large flame."
Huo mimicked Zuko's horse stance. "You need to inhale and then exhale while you're throwing a punch," the boy punched, creating a blue flame. "When you pull back your fist, then you need to inhale. The same goes when you're kicking. Take a deep breath, relax, and try again. Don't rush it."
Zuko nodded and took a deep breath. Like Huo told him, the young prince relaxed his muscles and inhaled. Then, he exhaled and conjured a flame from his fist. As instructed, he inhaled when he pulled back his fist and exhaled when he kicked.
Zuko's flames weren't bigger, but unlike earlier, they weren't becoming smaller since he wasn't tiring himself out, and his breathing wasn't erratic. "That's better," Huo stated. "As you can see, your flames remain the same if you control your breathing, but your breathing is too shallow. Take a deep breath. As deep as you can."
Zuko inhaled through his nose as much as he could. "And... firebend!" Huo instructed, and Zuko threw a punch while exhaling. While it wasn't anything impressive, for Zuko, it was the largest flame he ever created. The young prince's eyes widened as he gasped.
"There you go!" Huo patted Zuko on the back. The young prince looked at his fist in disbelief as a smile appeared on his face.
"A proper breathing control is the key," Huo pointed out. "Just remember that training with your teacher, where you have the time to concentrate, is completely different from a real fight. You have to keep training in order to improve."
Zuko turned to face Huo. "Thank you!" he said, making a Fire Nation gesture.
"Heh, don't mention it," Huo smiled and mimicked the gesture.
The time went by quickly, and soon, a male servant entered the back garden, telling the two boys that Fire Princess Ursa had arrived. Zuko and Huo left the garden and went to the foyer, where Ursa waited with Huo's father. The woman could tell her son had a good time just by looking at his broad smile.
"I see you had fun," she said with a pleased expression.
"I did!" Zuko confirmed and quickly added. "Huo is so cool! He showed me how to improve my firebending!"
"That's wonderful," Ursa replied joyfully.
"Can I invite him over so we can play?" Zuko asked, and Ursa knew her son made a friend.
"Only if Huo's father has nothing against it," she replied and looked at Weng, who smiled and placed his hand on Huo's shoulder. "Of course I have nothing against it," he replied. "I'm glad Huo is making more friends."
"So how about tomorrow?" Huo suggested, and Zuko nodded in agreement.
To be honest, Huo was intrigued to see the palace from within since Ty Lee always told him how impressive it was, and now, he actually could since he was permitted to visit Zuko just like Ty Lee and Mai were allowed to visit Azula. The boy knew the two planned on visiting Azula tomorrow as well, and he couldn't wait to see their reaction.
Huo lay on his bed in his room, looking at a blank spot on the ceiling and pondering the recent events. His dad would surely like to know everything that has happened until now. Not to mention, Huo really wanted to tell him about his first Agni Kai. Before he could attempt to meditate in the Spirit World, though, the door to his room opened.
"So what's your first impression of the prince?" Weng asked after entering and closing the door. "Because I can easily tell that he holds you in high regard, which is good."
"He's a nice kid," Huo replied truthfully and sat up. He moved to the edge of the bed and put his feet on the floor. "I seems he takes after his mother. His firebending needs some work, but I believe he can become a very good bender if he trains hard enough."
"Good," Weng smirked, but his expression quickly became serious. He approached the table and sat down. "We caught the attention of the royal family like planned, but now, it's going to get more difficult and dangerous."
"Dangerous?" Huo asked, narrowing his orange-colored eyes.
"Since you were permitted to visit the young prince, it also means that sooner or later, you'll meet his father, Prince Ozai," Weng stated. "Unlike Princess Ursa, Prince Ozai is a man who doesn't show any interest in the feelings of others and possesses little to no empathy. For him, morality is a weakness. He's not a man you want to disrespect or annoy. It wouldn't end well for you and me. However, you can't avoid him. You need to get on his good side and impress him with your firebending. That's your goal."
"Should I wait for his move like we did with General Donjin?" Huo asked.
"Yes," Weng nodded. "Remember you came to the palace to play with the young prince without any ulterior motives and if so happens that Prince Ozai will want to see your firebending, you'll be more than happy to oblige."
"Understood," Huo replied. "And what happens if I manage to impress him?"
"If that happens, Prince Ozai himself will push us toward our goal," Weng answered with a mischievous smirk.
"What do you mean?" Huo asked curiously. "Are you going to start explaining things to me?"
"All in due time, my boy," Weng replied, standing up and heading towards the door. "If you manage to succeed, I'll tell you everything."
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