Chapter 25
After exchanging terse, careful messages with the Earth Kingdom for a week, the Fire Nation sent a delegation to negotiate a treaty. Fire Lord Azula and her retinue met with the Earth Kingdom representatives on a ship between Natsuo Island and the western coast of the Earth Kingdom.
As the delegates arranged themselves around the big wooden table in the ship's stateroom, Captain Raiden placed himself directly behind the Fire Lord's seat, casting an assessing gaze over the earthbenders. The reclusive King Keui did not condescend to leave his palace in Ba Sing Se, so he had appointed General Fong to settle the treaty for him. The location for the meeting was chosen partly because the harbor was near the fortress that the General oversaw.
When she saw the stern, bearded man, Azula recognized him from her campaign on the continent several years ago. She had dealt Fong a stunning defeat on the battlefield, and now she was at his mercy. She cursed her luck; probably he held a grudge and would delight in making her pay for the victory she had denied him. Based on the way the other Earth Kingdom delegates were deferring to Fong, she could tell he was the only one in the room worth talking to, the one who would make the final decision. Ignoring their history, she directed her opening to him, and him alone.
"Hostilities ceased weeks ago," she declared. "Since I ascended the throne, there have been no attacks in the Earth Kingdom. As far as I am concerned, this war is already over. We would like to take our people and go home."
"Now, Fire Lord, you are young, but you must not be so hasty," Fong leaned back in his chair, a smug grin on his hairy face. He was indeed making it personal. "The purpose of this meeting is to set the terms of this armistice. It takes only one nation to declare war, but two to make peace. Surely you never thought you could end a century of conflict unilaterally, by fiat?"
She gritted her teeth against the general's condescension and ignored the dig. "What must we discuss before you return our men?"
"First there is the question of land."
With very little discussion, Azula agreed to give almost all of it back, keeping only the oldest colonies, like Yu Dao and Cranefish Town, the coastal settlements Sozin had established before Avatar Roku forbade him from further conquest. A substantial population of Fire Nation citizens lived there, many of whom had intermarried with Earth Kingdom families. The truth was that the Earth King simply didn't want to deal with these people and their mixed culture, and had given up the territory as lost decades ago. Everything else, the enormous tracts of land that generations of firebenders had conquered, she handed over.
"Very well." The Fire Lord signed her approval on a map with freshly drawn boundaries. "The Fire Nation has ended violence and ceded vast territories; we have agreed on new borders. Now will you give us back our soldiers?"
The general shook his head. "We have not yet discussed reparations."
Though the Fire Nation was rich, there was a limit to how much the country could afford to pay without impoverishing itself. Azula had spoken at length with her economic advisors, and had a figure in mind. If the General demanded more, this treaty could inflict a slower, wider misery on her people than what the soldiers were currently enduring in the Earth Kingdom prison. There was a point where the ensuing hardship might cost more than five thousand lives, but she dreaded such a calculation. A promise should mean something. She shuffled through her papers for a surreptitious glimpse of the picture of little Minato with his plush dragon, then tucked the paper into her jacket pocket. She waited for the general to throw out a number.
Luckily, Fong did not demand gold or food. "We do not need your help. We're too proud to accept it from those who caused our difficulties. We have always been able to provide for our own people on our land. What we really want is your scientific knowledge. To ensure our future safety, the Earth Kingdom demands the elimination of the Fire Nation's technological advantage."
Relieved that granting this demand would not require her to raise taxes or raid the treasury, Azula agreed. Since she wasn't planning on waging another war (Aang would not approve), sharing state secrets didn't bother her. There were many details to settle, though, even more than with the map. First the delegates had to define exactly what had given the Fire Nation its technological advantage throughout the century of war. A wonky, exhaustive discussion followed in which the representatives debated which inventions had won particular battles. Once that was settled, they had to haggle over how many army and navy assets must be transferred to create the intended balance of power. Azula sat back and let the military historians have their fun.
Finally, Fong summed up the agreement: "When they retreat, your soldiers will take with them only their uniforms and personal effects. All weapons and equipment currently on Earth Kingdom soil will be left where they sit, including tanks, artillery, and animals. We will take possession of twenty percent of your naval fleet, half of your dreadnaughts, and thirty percent of your airships. You will also send a corps of engineers to teach our own experts to copy and adapt your weapons, and to operate them without firebending." He looked around at his men, nodding at them with satisfaction. "We will never be outgunned by the Fire Nation again."
"Done." Azula signed the document an aide put in front of her without reading it. "Now the hostages, general. Name your price." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized that her insistence on returning to the captive soldiers at every point of this negotiation had probably tipped her hand, letting the general know what she really valued and weakening her position.
Fong sneered. "If it were up to me, they would all have been executed immediately upon their capture. Five thousand deaths would still not be enough to even the score between our countries." Then he sighed. "However, King Keui gave the order to spare them. It seems the Avatar spoke to him, and urged mercy." His sarcastic tone let her know exactly what he thought of his monarch's command.
But Azula glowed when she heard this. It was as if, even though they were separated, she and Aang were working together to save the soldiers. Knowing that her men's lives were protected by the king's word, she felt more confident she would win their return. After all, surely the Earth Kingdom did not wish to imprison them forever. She hoped to wrap up the negotiation quickly. "The Fire Nation is grateful that King Keui recognized the Avatar's wisdom. Now, General, I have given you territory and technology, and you have refused further reparations or ransom. What more do you want? Revenge? Humiliation?"
She had meant those last two words sarcastically, but Fong took them at face value. "Revenge? No. King Keui's friend the Avatar wouldn't allow that. Humiliation? Perhaps." His eyes narrowed at her, assessing, and her spine stiffened in response. "You must understand our perspective, Fire Lord, one shaped by a century of pain and loss caused by your people. We see the root cause of the war in the Fire Nation's culture, at least as it has been practiced for the past century. Honor has always been important to the Fire Nation, displayed in so many ways, from your paintings and theater, to your monuments, even your hairstyles. We would never presume to tell another country it must change its own heart, or its fashions. But throughout history, your people have pursued honor in different ways. For centuries they were content to seek greatness in modest, peaceful pursuits, limiting their reach to their own islands and clans. Then, led by Sozin and his descendents, the Fire Nation sought honor primarily in conquest, and we suffered for it. Now, in order for the residents of the Earth Kingdom to feel confident that the previous century's atrocities will never be repeated, the Fire Nation must redefine its notions of honor, perhaps through returning to the ideals of an earlier age. We must see that you now believe that honor cannot be found in dominating others. You must show us by your actions, that you acknowledge that your nation's conduct for the past hundred years has indeed been profoundly dishonorable. Only then can we release our captives."
Staring unblinkingly at the general, Fire Lord Azula stood from the table. She wavered an instant, as her entire body cried out to her to spit in Fong's smug face, but she remembered Aang, and the feeling passed. Steeling herself, not breaking her glare, she held her hand out to the side. "Captain, give me your sharpest knife."
In shock at what she was about to do, Raiden obeyed.
Azula plucked her crown from her topknot and handed it to him. Then she pulled up on her hair, positioned the knife behind it, and sliced. Shorn, red-faced, and defiant, the Fire Lord flung her clump of hair at the older man's feet.
"Are you satisfied, General?" She was aware of how unhinged she must look, her hair cut unevenly from the top and back. The pieces at her hairline hung long in front of her face, while at her crown, her scalp was nearly bare. The destruction of her perfect facade felt fitting, though it was also completely unbearable. A part of her was glad her outsides reflected her insides so well, for perhaps the first time ever.
"That depends." Fong grinned at her with wolfish triumph. "Are you seething with resentment towards me, or towards your own ancestors?"
"If I say 'both,' is that good enough?" she retorted acidly.
The general chuckled. "That's understandable. Will you turn your resentment toward me into a new campaign to reclaim your honor by attempting to besiege my fortress?"
"That would be profoundly dishonorable of me, General." she parroted his words in a clipped, bitter tone. "And I don't have much hair left to cut."
"So true. Very well. Your soldiers will be returned to you." In silence, Fong and the Fire Lord signed the final papers, and then she turned away without another word, leaving her subordinates to make the rest of the arrangements.
On her way out, she heard General's friends congratulate him. One of them picked the knot of hair up from the floor and handed it to him like a hunting dog bringing his master a prize. Accepting their compliments, Fong responded in a voice so loud that he surely intended the Fire Lord to hear him, "I think I've earned a new nickname. They'll call me the Barber!" He held the ponytail in the air like a trophy as the Earth Kingdom officials laughed uproariously.
Azula clenched her hot fists and left the room.
Author's Note: What do you think of Azula's choice? Let me know in a review! I appreciate every one!