Chapter 28

Raiden's song for this chapter is "She's So High" by Tal Bachman.

Raiden stood by the door as the disgruntled generals filed out of the throne room. They had just heard the numbers, and now knew exactly how seriously the armed forces were being downsized. Most of them walked by the captain as if he were a piece of furniture, but one, a colonel, stopped in front of him, looking at him with a sour expression.

"I suppose you're happy about this," he accused the captain.

"Excuse me, sir?" Raiden's eyes widened at the unexpected attack as he recognized the man: his superior, Karai.

"Hell, you're probably the one behind it!" the colonel burst out.

"I'm sorry, sir, I don't—" Raiden stuttered, confused.

"Destroying this country from the inside out…" Karai shook his head in disgust and moved on without bothering to answer.

"Who was that?" Takeo wondered as they followed the Fire Lord down the hall.

"Colonel Karai. He doesn't like me," he answered shortly.

"I could tell. Why?"

"I questioned one of his orders."

"When?"

"The day of Sozin's comet, on Crescent Island."

"Oh, yeah. You told me that story. That was rough, buddy. And now he's…."

"My immediate commanding officer." Raiden had cringed when he saw the announcement. Jinan wasn't the only military leader who had retired recently. Ozai's death had ushered in a changing of the guard, so that the remaining generals and majors got shuffled around a bit. This reorganization created opportunities, like his own promotion, but, unfortunately for him, it also removed a buffer layer between himself and the hostile colonel.

Takeo flinched sympathetically. Their shift was ending, so they met with the officers relieving them, and went to their locker room to change out of their uniforms, along with a few of the other guards.

"There's something else I wanted to talk to you about," Takeo began cautiously when they were alone. "Did you know that romances between the guards and members of the royal family are actually illegal?"

Raiden frowned. "No, I didn't."

His friend handed him a paper.

"What's this?"

"A copy of the law restricting your love life. A few centuries ago, Fire Lord Charyu had several daughters that he wanted to marry advantageously," Takeo explained. "When he noticed a flirtation between the eldest and a member of her personal guard, he enacted this law to nip it in the bud. She married a nobleman, cementing a clan alliance, while her little sisters grew up protected from the predations of unscrupulous young soldiers."

"That was over 300 years ago!" Raiden protested.

"The law is still on the books. It is enforced not by the Fire Lord, but by any higher-ranking officer."

Raiden paled. "Colonel Karai would love any excuse to take me down a peg. And he already thinks I have too much influence here," he murmured.

"Exactly. The possible penalties range from reassignment to demotion to dishonorable discharge to five years in prison. So I'm just looking out for you, man. Those rumors aren't going away."

"I can't stop a rumor from circulating!" the captain burst out, annoyed.

"I know. And Karai would need evidence to take action against you. The rumor wouldn't be enough to destroy your career."

"Well, that's a relief." Raiden finished putting away his things, wondering when his friend would be finished with this conversation.

"Are you even trying? Takeo asked, a bit of frustration coming into his voice.

"Trying what?"

"To get rid of your crush."

Raiden rolled his eyes. "It's not like I'm in control of it."

"That bad, huh?" Takeo sighed. "Well, I guess she could strike down this law any time, if she wanted to."

"Why would she? She probably doesn't even know it exists." Raiden pointed out. "And Karai might not, either. It's pretty obscure."

"You're right. I don't even think the Fire Lord knows about the rumor."

"No. She's clueless in some ways. And people tiptoe around her, mostly just telling her what she wants to hear."

"I could tell her." Takeo grinned mischievously.

"Don't you dare!"

"If your crush isn't going away, then maybe that means it's more than a crush, and you should….explore it."

"That's crazy," Raiden scoffed.

"Why? Surely you don't agree with this law. I would think this whole caste system would rankle you."

"Oh, it does." The captain objected to Charyu's law on principle: the old Fire Lord had been protecting aristocracy in separating his daughters from the guards, and Raiden thought the strict separation of the classes was corrosive to the national culture. Perhaps the young princesses had really loved their protectors. On the other hand, maybe the guards had acted improperly toward the royal girls. The nuances of such personal dramas were probably lost to history. Applying the law to Azula felt particularly absurd to him. Its assumptions — that the royal family consisted of more than one person, that the Fire Lord was a patriarch, that royal daughters could not defend themselves from unwanted advances, that all guards were lechers — did not fit her situation at all. He found it ironic for a long-dead overprotective father's prohibition to hold over a parentless young woman operating in the world under her own authority, wielding power over everything except, apparently, her own romantic choices. However, his thoughts on the matter were insignificant. He shook his head and told his friend his conclusion. "But it doesn't matter what I think about this law, because she doesn't like me."

Takeo didn't pretend he had seen Azula making eyes at Raiden, because such a thing had never happened. "You haven't tried to make her like you," he argued.

"That would be inappropriate."

"So?"

"So, as you've pointed out by showing me this law, my career would be on the line if I ever got involved with the Fire Lord." Raiden pointed out. "I mean, would you just ask your boss out on a date?"

Takeo made a face. "You're my boss."

"I know. Imagine if I were the most beautiful woman you'd ever seen. And I'm not just your boss, I'm your boss's boss's boss. Wouldn't our positions make it feel weird to start a relationship?"

"I guess it would at first, but if the attraction was strong enough…"

"According to this law, if I try it and she turns me down, then I lose my job," Raiden reminded Takeo, feeling a bit impatient and unsure what his friend was aiming at. "Are you trying to encourage me to stay away from her, or go for it?"

"I guess, the first, and failing that, the second. Worst thing you could do is just…pine away."

"Well, I'm not." Takeo gave him a look, calling him on the white lie. Raiden corrected himself. "Or at least, I'm not suffering. Liking her and not being with her doesn't bother me because I have zero hope. She's out of my league, and I've accepted that. "

"Will it bother you when she gets engaged to some aristocrat?" Takeo pushed.

"Only if I think he's using her or doesn't treat her well," the captain answered, believing he was speaking honestly. "I think this crush actually makes me better at my job than I've ever been. I'm more focused. More dedicated."

"All right." Takeo put his hands up, surrendering the argument. "I think I see that difference in you, too. And with this unrest, you need to be on your game. The Fire Lord might actually need you to protect her."

"Agni forbid."

Author's Note: Let me know what you think of this little chapter with a review!

Check out a new story by my friend FeagenofLegends, formerly known as purplereignonhorses. It's an ATLA AU story called Avatar: The Last Firebender.