Chapter 58

Raiden waited a moment in the broom closet after Azula went on her way, hoping to avoid notice.

No such luck. As soon as he emerged, Takeo practically tackled him, mussing the topknot that the Fire Lord had just rearranged.

"You've been keeping things from us." Naoki accused, arms crossed.

"It's called privacy?" the captain tried.

"I don't care how private you are, you can't start dating the Fire Lord without telling your friends," Takeo protested.

"If we're really your friends, that is." Naoki put in indignantly.

"You are, it's just—it happened very slowly, and then all at once," Raiden explained.

"We need the entire story. Out with it," the young woman demanded.

But it wasn't only his story. The captain felt uncomfortable confiding Azula's secrets to his friends. "A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell," he mumbled, face reddening.

"Then you admit there has been kissing!" Naoki jumped gleefully.

His still-tingling lips couldn't seem to help curving up at that thought, and he paired a sideways nod with a bit of a shrug as wordless confirmation.

"We're happy for you, that's all," Takeo assured him. "No one deserves a rich, hot girlfriend more than you do."

At that word, Raiden realized that he and Azula hadn't yet attached any labels to their relationship. "I'm not sure if we—"

Naoki rolled her eyes. "She changed the law for you, and you're appearing in public together tonight. She wouldn't bother unless she's at least that serious about you."

"Yeah, I'd say it's safe to assume you're her boyfriend now." Takeo agreed.

"They'll be writing an opera about you two next: the Fire Lord and her captain, bringing peace to the Nation, as they fall in love," Naoki pretended to swoon at the romantic idea, but that word made Raiden cringe.

Always perceptive, Takeo noticed, and wondered, "She doesn't know you're in love with her?" The sadness in his eyes let Raiden know he understood how difficult the uneven nature of his relationship was for him.

"Would you say that on a first date?" Raiden challenged.

"You mean you've already had a first date? It's not going to be the opera tonight?" Naoki asked, surprised.

"We had dinner together in her chambers last night," Raiden admitted.

"In her chambers? Takeo's jaw dropped, and he whispered, "Did you sleep with her?"

"No, not like that." Raiden saw Naoki's eyes fly wide open, and put his hands up to halt her before she could press for details. "That's all I'm going to say. Thanks for being happy for me, guys. I have to check in with the guards on the battlements before I leave the palace to get cleaned up for the opera tonight."

Somehow, news had preceded him, so that the men stationed in the guard towers already knew all about his romance with the Fire Lord. Their impertinent questions made his inspection take longer than he expected, so that he had to rush home to get ready for his date.

When he arrived at his apartment, he found that an expensively designed formal robe had been delivered. Though there was no note, he was sure this was Azula's doing, and she meant for him to wear it tonight. Technically his dress uniform was formal enough for the opera, but perhaps she wanted to see him in something different. With red and gold accents, the black robes were flashier than anything he'd ever worn, but he was game to try them.

Undressing for his shower, the captain found Azula's proclamation in his breast pocket and couldn't resist reading it again. She was used to writing these kinds of official proclamations, and the fact that she'd used that format to express much more private feelings tickled him to no end. The ceremonial form could not contain the youthful exuberance of the writer. He couldn't get over how sweet it was. No one else would ever have guessed that the Fire Lord was capable of such a sentimental gesture, but he was the one who had inspired this effusion. Her note had delighted him so much that he hadn't been able to resist pulling her into that closet and kissing her with more fervor than he'd yet dared. Her enthusiastic response had nearly broken down his barriers, but he had managed to keep control, barely.

After his shower, he shaved, and tied his topknot tightly, remembering Azula's fingers in his hair with a grin. The robes fit him perfectly, as he'd known they would. They made him look rich and confident, but he also noticed that they did not hamper his movement one bit. He had just finished tying the complicated waistband when there was a knock at the door: the royal carriage had arrived to pick him up. (The palace still utilized ostrich horse drawn carriages for formal occasions, though it also owned a few of the new automobiles.) The Fire Lord wasn't inside, the chauffeur explained. They would pick her up at the palace and then proceed to the opera house.

Raiden jogged up the palace steps to meet Azula, and she emerged from the great doors just as he reached them. She looked like a goddess of smoke and flame, dressed in a black gown with a plunging neckline and long, trailing sleeves that turned red and orange, their tattered shape imitating tongues of fire. It didn't exactly match the robes she'd sent him, but they would certainly look coordinated, as if they belonged together.

"You look gorgeous," he breathed, offering her his arm.

"Not so bad yourself, Captain." She looked him up and down almost lasciviously. Then she put her hand in the crook of his elbow, and they descended the stairs to the carriage. Raiden waved the chauffeur away and opened the door for her, then followed her inside. Settling into his seat beside her, he ventured to slide his arm around her; she raised a pleased eyebrow at him and scooted closer. Then they both seemed unsure what to say next, and an awkward silence descended, as they both remembered the last time they were in an enclosed space together.

"Are you nervous?" Azula finally murmured.

"About what?"

"Being in public with me."

"I've been in public with you plenty of times."

"Not on a date."

"I trust that when the newspapers say the common-born, homely captain is unworthy of the beautiful Fire Lord, you'll disagree," he teased.

She elbowed him. "They won't say that."

"What will they say?"

"They'll say the Fire Lord finally came to her senses and jumped on the hot guard who had saved her life." All joking was gone; her gaze was frank. He wanted to kiss her, but her lipstick was too perfect to muss, especially just before they appeared for the first time as a couple. He settled for squeezing her waist, and she set her hand on his knee.

Soon the carriage pulled up in front of the opera house. Nobles filed into the stately building, all wearing their finest. Word must have gotten out that the Fire Lord was attending the performance, because Raiden could see a few reporters on the edge of the crowd.

"My lord, who's this gentleman with you?" one of them called out from near the door to the theater.

Azula appeared affronted at the slight to her companion. "Don't you know Captain Raiden?"

"Oh, yes! Captain of the Guard, Mr. Golden Arrow! I didn't recognize you without your uniform!" This reporter had interviewed Raiden several times when he was investigating the assassination attempt, so he looked abashed at the oversight. Feeling forgiving, the captain offered his hand.

"Are the two of you dating?" the reporter asked him eagerly. Raiden glanced at Azula before he answered.

"We are here together on a date tonight," she confirmed coyly.

"Have you been dating long?" he pressed.

"Did you purposely choose this show for your first public appearance?" Another reporter joined in.

"Raiden's been my best friend for some time, but it's only recently our relationship has progressed. Fiery Devotion is an opera we both had a special interest in seeing. Izumi has always been one of my favorite predecessors," Azula answered them both deftly.

"Captain Raiden, how does it feel for you to accompany the Fire Lord tonight?" the first reporter focused on him again, putting him on the spot.

He looked at his love, who glowed with more than her inner fire. "I'm thrilled beyond belief," he murmured with a slight shake of his head.

Blushing with pleasure, the Fire Lord curled her arm even more tightly around his. "If you'll excuse us, we want to make it to the royal box before the show starts." They left the reporters behind and entered the lobby, the crowd of well-dressed theatergoers parting for them when they saw Azula's crown.

"Is there a broom closet somewhere?" she muttered in his ear as they made their way into the theater, making him chuckle. But he understood her inner struggle: there was nothing he wanted to do more than pull her into a private place so he could explore that low neckline with his lips.

But the royal box was just as much about being seen as it was about seeing the performance. She seemed to enjoy showing him off. When the Fire Lord and her guest were announced, and the spotlight found them, she waved, and smiled radiantly at him. He brought her hand to his lips, confirming their public association, and the crowd cheered. He had to admit, it was exciting to be the center of all that attention, instead of standing to the side.

Then the lights dimmed and the orchestra began to play. Her shoulder leaned into his, as the music swept them back into the Golden Age, when a princess fell in love with her bodyguard.


Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Please leave me a review!