Chapter 29

The Fire Lord composed her speech carefully, running it by lawyers and advisors and Professor Rekishi. Once she got them to knock off the yes-man routine, her committees tore up her ideas. She had to go through multiple drafts, agonizing over word choices and sentence structures.

Her lawyers told her, in guarded words, that legally speaking, nothing she revealed about her father's death could hurt her. For one thing, she was the only witness, so everyone had to simply take her word for what had happened. But even if she were proven to have killed her father in cold blood, it would make no difference. According to statute, she was immune from prosecution. The Fire Lord was a law unto theirself. The absolute nature of the monarchy created a legal loophole that allowed a royal child to kill a parent with impunity, with the throne as both motive and absolution. This was surely the reason so many Fire Lords had died that way in the nation's history. After assuming power, patricidal leaders (like Ozai himself, of course) were loath to change the law that kept them safe from consequences, and they deceived themselves that their own children would never treat them the same way. It was simply karma. She felt immense relief when she understood that she was safe, and smug satisfaction at the tantrums that this information triggered in her father's ghost.

Once she had at least part of the speech finalized, she began practicing her delivery. She was sure that this part of her preparation, at least, would be easy. Half the challenge of public speaking was confidence, her old elocution coach from the Royal Academy for Girls had always said, and confidence had never been a problem for Azula. The other half, though, was technical skill, something the Fire Lord had never bothered to learn before. She had always coasted on sheer bravado and the respect her position afforded her. But the problem now was that a lot of people had lost their respect for her. So she needed to be flawless in order to get it back. Not because their opinions were important to her, but because she recognized that public cooperation was vital to accomplishing her goals.

Szeto had instructions for public speaking, and she tried to follow them. Planning for the pauses as well as for the words, was one of his directions. He prescribed breathing exercises and gave directions for voice projection. There was so much to remember at once! The hardest part might have been the way the past Avatar had insisted that speakers should smile while talking, "a genuine grin with true warmth and fondness behind it." Azula wasn't even sure what such an expression would feel like on her face. When the specificity of Szeto's lessons became too much for her to manage without feedback, she called in that old speech teacher for support.

Though she felt confident about her message and her leadership, and her writing and speaking showed noticeable improvement, Azula also felt a new intensity about the speech as its date approached, and she realized it was because she actually cared. Not really about the people's approval, although she recognized that having them behind her would make her work easier. She cared about the topic she was speaking on, the work she was describing, and that made it matter in a way that none of father's campaigns ever did. Sure, in the past she worked hard, and won, but it wasn't like that was difficult. Writing, though, was difficult. Speaking was difficult. Mai and Father jeered at her mistakes, but she didn't allow them to demoralize her. She powered through her preparations, thinking all the time of the show she was putting on for Aang, picturing him as her audience of one.

The inner courtyard of the Caldera Fire Shrine had been chosen as the venue. Azula had originally wanted an outdoor public space with room for a large audience, but Captain Raiden and the other members of her security detail had insisted upon a location with discrete entrances that could be secured. With the current unrest, security was of the utmost importance. Though she would have preferred Blazing Square, the open public plaza in the middle of the capital, the Fire Lord had to agree with the safety measures. The shrine's courtyard was not quite as big, but it was enclosed, so guards could be stationed to limit access. A second-floor balcony overlooked the entire courtyard. The security team debated allowing spectators to watch from the balcony, but decided against it. Instead, they stationed a few guards there to oversee the crowd from above. A dais was built on one side of the courtyard, with a podium for the Fire Lord; this was a common setup during festivals.

The Fire Lord carefully chose a new outfit to wear. Gone were the intimidating pointy epaulets and service medals she'd worn at her coronation. She didn't want to look like a warrior queen while giving a speech about peace. She also nixed the thigh slit and cleavage, going for businesslike rather than sexy. A knee-length belted jacket over leggings and boots gave her the air of an action-oriented administrator. The red cape that fell from her shoulders, its inside panel shimmering with subtle gold threads that caught the light, was the only hint of elegance or indulgence in her presentation. The jeweler had also finished his work: her new crown was ready. It floated above her head as if by magic, the anchoring wire hidden under her hair. The overall result was a bit dull for her usual taste, especially compared with what she'd worn for her last public appearance. While undoubtedly flattering, there was a hint of softness about the ensemble, but she liked to think that Aang would have liked that about it.

On the day of the speech, Azula looked in the mirror at herself, appreciating the tailor's work. She smoothed her hair, running her fingers along the pieces in the front that framed her face and came to a point at her chin. Then she applied her red lipstick, its edges sharp and precise. Perfect.

The Fire Lord took her carriage to the Fire Shrine, then followed the guards to the dais inside. A trumpeter announced her and she took her place at the podium.

She looked out over the crowd, assessing them. Some were supporters, she knew, but others, she could tell, were skeptical of her. But at least they were here, giving her this much of a chance to convince them. She gathered herself, and began to speak:

"107 years ago, my great grandfather Sozin perpetrated an unprovoked attack on a peaceful people, the Air Nomads. As a comet lent him extra power, he and his army wiped out the people of the Air Temples. This act of genocide was an atrocity. As the descendents of those who committed this crime against humanity, we should feel ashamed of it.

"Despite what our schools have taught children for generations, the Air Nomads posed no threat to the Fire Nation. They were pacifists who did not even have a standing army ready to defend their children from Sozin's onslaught. Airbending is a formidable ability, but its practitioners abhorred violence so strongly that their beliefs prevented them from defending themselves to the utmost. This kind of conquest should not be a source of pride for any nation.

"My grandfather, Azulon, continued Sozin's cruel work. He wiped out the waterbenders from the Southern Water Tribe." All except one, she thought ruefully. "He oversaw the buildup of war industries within our own country, which have polluted our waterways and sickened our people. Under Azulon's command, my uncle laid siege to Ba Sing Se for years, starving the city residents of supplies.

"After my father engineered his father's demise and ascended the throne, he continued our family's cruel work. He sent a battalion of unprepared new recruits into battle, sacrificing them as cannon fodder to gain a strategically unimportant bit of land. When my brother Zuko protested this callous plan, he publicly humiliated him, maimed his face, and banished him. As crown princess, I participated willingly in my father's conquests. He sent me into the Earth Kingdom to take over the city of Omashu, and to put down an uprising in a nearby mine. Perhaps my father's worst crime of all was the way he treated Avatar Aang. He kept the last airbender prisoner in the palace for years, grooming him to act as our country's greatest weapon, abusing him in ways I cannot recount for this audience.

"This is our country's history, and my family's history. This is the history I brought to its conclusion when I made peace with the Earth Kingdom. This peace is righteous, because it rests on the recognition that the war it ended was not righteous. Sozin dishonored all of us when he began it. I did not dishonor myself by cutting my hair to save five thousand of our imprisoned soldiers, but by taking part in this shameful conflict. We must face this history honestly if we are ever to learn from it.

"Since I am setting the record straight concerning national history, I must also address a discrepancy in my own personal history.

"Avatar Aang did not murder my father. I claimed that he did on that night, in my own trauma, and confusion, and anger at Aang for abandoning me on the eve of our wedding. But now I must tell the truth. My father caused his own death. Our courts of law recognize the right of self-defense. In cases where someone causes another's death in the course of defending themselves or another from being murdered, homicide is ruled justified. As sole witness to these events and as Fire Lord, I certify that the death of the younger son of Azulon was unavoidable, warranted, and deserved, because of his own actions in threatening the life of another. For this reason, the warrants for the arrest of Avatar Aang and his accomplice are voided, and they are pardoned of all crimes.

"In addition, I am lifting the banishment of my brother, Prince Zuko. He is also pardoned for any crimes he may have committed against the Fire Nation since the beginning of his exile. He and his companions, Mai and Ty Lee, may return to the country of their births without fearing arrest.

"Now I would like to turn from the past toward the future. Today I announce the beginning of the Szeto Initiative. My administration will look to the timeless wisdom of Avatar Szeto for guidance in every aspect of our work. Szeto advised my most illustrious ancestors to unify our islands and create a golden age of art and abundance. I am proud to turn our country from the disastrous course it has been following for the past century, and return it to the path that will lead to world harmony, cultural renaissance, fruitful harvests, and true honor.

"The history I have recounted today is not what our children learn in our schools. For decades, we have taught our students self-serving propaganda instead of the truth. My administration will right this wrong, so that our children may appreciate our shared past in all its complexity, rather than feeling a false sense of superiority to the other nations of the world.

"Together we will return the Fire Nation to a height of cultural and economic success that has not been seen since the classical age of Yosor and Izumi. We will find lasting honor, not in conquest, but in peace and prosperity. Our hard work and cooperation will bring us glory."

Azula lifted her eyes from her speech, elated to have finished. Looking at her people, she actually felt the warmth Szeto said she should, and the muscles of her face burned with it, as they pulled her expression into a genuine smile, one of the first of her life. There was a pause, and she knew that her audience was about to break into thunderous cheers.

That was when she saw the fireball soaring directly toward her head.

Author's Note: What do you think? Drop a review and tell me!

If you are interested in serving as a beta reader for this story, please let me know in a review. I have written almost 30 chapters ahead from this point of the story, and you could get a sneak peak ahead into what's going to happen!