Chapter 4

Izara disembarked the boat holding the prisoners they had taken at the Harbour of Capital City. After taking a day to organise transport and completing all the necessary paperwork to move the prisoners, they received word back late last night that the Capital was ready for them. They had left at sunrise the following day, and after saying a quick goodbye to her Uncle, she hopped on the ship and left. It felt liberating to leave him behind, knowing she wouldn't have to worry about dealing with him anymore. He had done much for her, but she should have been brave enough to leave sooner. The Fire Lord's visit gave her the courage to do it.

This was all so sudden, but it didn't feel like the wrong move or like it was rushed. It felt like a good move. She would get away from her Uncle, get an excellent stable position where she would be respected and could actually use the intelligence that was slowly wasting away inside her mind from lack of use. It was good to feel like she had her independence back, but she didn't feel that pit of fear in her stomach that she would have to return to stealing food so she could eat. She had been scared to leave in case she had to rely on old habits to survive.

She had previously been to Capital City, but it was many years before she was taken under her Uncle's wing. It had probably been years since then, and things had changed drastically due to the Fire Lord's influence. She assisted in the prisoners' transport as best she could before she went on her way.

Now that she was alone, she realised she had no idea where to go or how to get to the palace. The Fire Lord had given her a few days to get everything sorted, but she had no interest in waiting long to get away from her Uncle. He wasn't too pleased about the idea, but she had said a swift goodbye while he was still getting his wounds treated and zipped away to get on the boat. Her Uncle probably kept his mouth shut about it since it was the word of the Fire Lord that he would be going against if he complained.

The Capital City had a completely different feel to it now. When she had been here previously, it was just before the War ended. It had been so strict, with an oppressive feel, soldiers marching in formation through the streets. Nowadays, there are soldiers scattered around, still ensuring the safety of the citizens, but in a much healthier way. The citizens interacted with them, and some children followed a soldier around as he did his rounds, giggling as they went. There were lively markets with fresh food and handmade things, such as clothes, jewellery, and household items. There was a surprising amount of tourism, as she recognised people with the colouration from the Water Tribes and even people wearing Earth Kingdom clothing. They even had stalls set up, selling various things from their part of the world, and they had lines long enough to suggest that they were pretty popular. One of them was an Earth Kingdom spice and tea stall, and at least 20 people were waiting to make a purchase. She made a mental note to come back and look later. All of this would be exciting to explore once she had a chance.

Her stomach rumbled on cue. She only had a little money, and since she didn't know when she would get paid next, she wanted to conserve it as much as possible. She purchased something cheap to eat and practically inhaled it. She must have been more hungry than she realised. Army rations weren't exactly gourmet, so it was a welcome change to have something with such fresh ingredients. It was only a rice ball, but it was enough to tie her over.

Going out on a limb, she decided that she would have to ask for directions to the palace. It was in view from every part of the city, but Izara wasn't quite sure how to get there. She asked the lady who had served her and tried to memorise the directions as best she could. It didn't seem too complex, and she used the visual cues the lady had described to find her way through. The City was just as big as she remembered, and it took her some time to find her way to the palace. Despite it housing the Fire Lord, it had a more relaxed feel than she expected. The guards greeted her politely, and one of them even walked in to show her the way to the Fire Lord's chambers once she'd explained her situation. They must have been informed to expect her since they seemed to recognise her name.

Izara walked through the giant halls, amazed at how big the palace was. It wasn't as ornately decorated as expected, but she supposed Fire Lord Zuko might have toned things down over the years. The soldier left her with the Fire Lord's assistant after Izara thanked him. The assistant moved to stand and bowed politely, which Izara quickly mirrored after catching herself.

"I am Wen, the Fire Lord's assistant. Do you have an appointment?" Wen asked in an exquisite and refined voice. It matched her appearance perfectly. She was a rather tall woman who was a little bit older than her, maybe mid-30s at most. Her hair was in an impeccable bun, and she wore a tidy, feminine black and maroon suit. Her features were ordinary but still pretty.

"My name is Izara. I don't have an appointment, but the Fire Lord asked me to come and see him once I arrived in the Capital. It was only the day before last, so he should remember. I was stationed with Colonel Uzan." Her excitement had died off in anxiety that something might go wrong.

"Ah, he mentioned you would be arriving soon. One moment please." She moved to go through the door to the Fire Lord's chambers, shutting it behind her. Only a moment later, she emerged and held the door open for her to go in. "The Fire Lord is available to see you now."

"Thank you." Izara gave her a brief nod before she cautiously made her way inside.

Once she had passed the doorway threshold, she looked around at the incredible amount of books, paperwork, and what looked like blueprints and plans on the walls. Movement distracted her as the Fire Lord stood behind his desk and moved in front of it to greet her. She shuffled over quickly, bowed as low as possible, and stayed there for two seconds before rising again.

"You came quicker than I expected." His voice was the same as she remembered, and he was smiling at her as well.

"Uh, I came on the prisoner transport boat." Her tone was as even as it could be as she tried to hide her nervousness.

"Well, it's good to have you here so quickly. I've had everything prepared for you, and the Captain of the Palace Guard is also ready for you. His name is Guozhi, and he is seconded by Luan. You can also collect your uniform from his office and get a bed assigned too. You'll have a couple of days to settle in before you start work, though," he informed as he leaned comfortably against the edge of the desk.

"I'll also put you in Suki's training group. She's been working to teach Kyoshi Warrior techniques since the Palace Guard are trained in many different types of combat." He said as he ran his thumb across his jaw thoughtfully, and it took Izara a moment to realise what he had said.

"I'm sorry, I must have misheard you. The Palace Guard?" She asked, trying her best to continue being as respectful as possible while shocked.

"Yes, you'll be in the Palace Guard." He offered in a very calm tone, and Izara felt her eyes widen, and her jaw drop. She snapped it shut just as quickly so she didn't look like an idiot.

"My Lord, I must admit that I am in no way, shape, or form qualified to be in the Palace Guard. I can barely firebend, let alone defend you personally." Whilst trying not to defy him, she wanted to make it clear that she wasn't good enough for such a role. He was too kind, and she wasn't worthy of such a role.

"You defended me during the siege. I believe you have a lot of potential and need a chance to unlock it. Do you not trust my judgement?" The Fire Lord narrowed his eyes at her, but she didn't miss the hint of mirth in them, as if he saw straight through her.

"No, My Lord. That's not it. I just… I would hate to disappoint you after you've been so kind and generous to me." Izara figured she should be frank with him since he seemed too perceptive to hide anything from. She allowed her expression and tone to show it as best as possible, hoping that her honesty would hit home with him.

He smiled and chuckled softly. "I understand, and I know that you will work hard. Suki will help train you; I'm sure she will be happy to do private sessions if you need them. You'll train in firebending with the other guards, and I can also organise a private instructor for firebending."

This was a hell of an opportunity; she didn't want to knock it back because of her insecurities. It was a chance to dust off her fighting days from when she was younger and did anything she could to survive. She heard that Suki was an incredible warrior with epic hand-to-hand skills and was excited to learn from her. It was the firebending that concerned her. She definitely wasn't useless in a fight, but her lack of firebending skill would be a big problem that she would have to work on. Especially when she would be working amongst the elite. Instead of feeling scared, she would have to work hard to catch up.

"My Lord, if possible, I would like to start firebending training as soon as possible since it's my biggest weakness. I must admit that I've had no formal training at all." She admitted sheepishly with her eyes lowered.

"I'm sure I can make time for your first session tomorrow." He went behind his desk and flicked through what must have been a planner of some description, and Izara was floored with shock once again.

"My Lord, I-I am unsure of your meaning." She spoke quietly, and he looked up from his book and watched her for a moment before he replied.

"I'm the best Firebender in the palace. Surely it would be best for you to learn from me. Also, since I've plucked you from your life to bring you here so abruptly, I feel responsible for making sure that you settle in well." He shrugged faintly and scratched the back of his head, clearly feeling a little awkward himself.

"I greatly appreciate your offer, but as the Fire Lord, surely you don't have the time to teach basic firebending."

"Actually, I would relish getting out of this office. If I train you, that gives me a good reason to escape. I would greatly appreciate having a good reason to be outside for a change. However, if you feel uncomfortable…" he trailed off slightly, and Izara waved her hands at him to dispel his concerns.

"No, no. I'm not uncomfortable. Just...surprised." She admitted and dropped her hands back to her sides.

"Well, tomorrow then. Around 4pm?" He waited for her response, and she nodded to confirm her agreement. "I'll have Wen show you to the barracks, and the Captain will be there for you to meet."

He began to walk towards the door, and she followed a step or two behind him. He reached out and opened the door for her with a smile. "I'll meet you at the training grounds tomorrow."

"Thank you, My Lord. I am so grateful for your kindness." She bowed low again and smiled back before she went outside the door.

Fire Lord Zuko leaned outside just enough to make eye contact with Wen and ask her to take Izara to the Captain's office. She bowed, stood up and began walking with Izara, who fell into step as quickly as possible. This was all happening much faster than she expected, and she was more or less operating on sheer muscle memory as she walked through the halls. Wen had spoken to her, and she had to ask her to repeat it as she wasn't listening.

"I said that if you need anything, to come and let me know. The Fire Lord wasn't expecting you so soon but made sure that everything was ready for your arrival. I hope you have had enough time to organise your affairs. Moving to the Capital is quite a change in scenery." Wen seemed like a nice but firm person, and Izara presumed that she would rely on her quite a bit since she was so new here and had no idea how things worked.

Izara was surprised to see so many staff bustling around in the halls. Some staff were cleaning. Others had laundry or food. She didn't expect such a large amount of them to be working. There were guards, but they were also relatively well-spaced throughout the palace. Just as they arrived at the guards' office, she realised that she should have been paying attention to where to go from the Fire Lord's chambers. It was too late now. After knocking, she thanked Wen for her assistance and entered the Captain's office.

"Captain Guozhi. It is an honour to meet you." She bowed as if she was bowing to her teacher, as she supposed she would have a lot to learn and wanted to show her eagerness. "I am Izara and a new member of the Palace Guard. The Fire Lord sent me to meet you." Her voice was as firm and confident as she could make it.

"Ahh, yes. The Fire Lord mentioned that someone with potential would be arriving soon. I hear you led a small part of the siege campaign against the Supremacists." He was an older man with greying hair, a few scars on his face, and a gruff voice, which matched him perfectly.

"I think our Fire Lord's words are far too kind. I have a lot to learn, and I'm keen to work hard to catch up." She bowed again to show her humility and heard the Captain chuckle at her.

"Ah, to be young again. Come on, I'll show you around."

As she had made a habit of today, she fell into step just behind him. He showed her to the guards' room next door on the left. Some of them lived there, although most lived in the city. The Captain explained that most of them only lived there until they could afford their own place and recommended she did the same. In the Captain's words, it wasn't the most comfortable place to live, let alone for a woman. She understood that, even though there were separate quarters for men and women. There was a chest at the end of each bed for everyone's belongings. Izara was assigned the bed on the left-hand side of the room, the third one down. She dropped her pack down on the chest and continued following the Captain.

He showed her around most of the palace areas she would need to know. The staff quarters and bathrooms were used between all staff and guards. The laundry, kitchens and small cafeteria area where the guards would gather on their breaks, before and after their shifts. There was a group there at that moment, and they all stood and bowed to the Captain. All meals were free to staff and guards, even if they lived outside the palace. The staff were all smiles and greeted her politely as she was shown around. From what she could tell, it seemed like quite a nice place to work. Everyone seemed happy to be there and like they got along well.

"And this is the training ground. I believe you are to join Miss Suki's training group, and they will be here on Tuesday. You can join us next week, of course. I'll place you on the roster for the late afternoon shift. It's the easiest shift to start, and you get a break right around normal dinner time." The Captain explained as they headed back towards the guard rooms.

"There isn't much else to do besides getting your uniform sized up." They both went into his office, and he opened a large cupboard that held both men's and women's uniforms. He handed her a size, and she held it up against herself. It wasn't right, so they swapped it and got the correct size. He gave her two complete uniform sets and told her to get some other girls to help her put them on so she knew what to do. Although she felt very welcomed, there was a strong sense of discipline.

"Let me know if you need anything else. If I'm not here, the second in command is Luan, and he will be here. During the night shift, Daiku is in charge."

"Thank you, Captain. I won't let you down." She bowed again with her hands together in front of her in a traditional bow.

Izara picked up her uniform and left the room, heading back next door to the guard rooms and into the women's section. She left her bag and placed her uniform down carefully on the bed. No one else was around, presumably because the staff changeover was almost due. The guards sitting in the cafeteria earlier would probably be taking over. Maybe after the changeover, someone would come in, and she could start meeting everyone. Instead, for the moment, she unpacked and placed her personal items in the chest and closed it. She left out a pair of old pants and a baggy shirt to change into and headed towards the bathrooms.

It was quiet, and no one else was there, even as she filled a bathtub and spent plenty of time there. Long enough that she had to reheat the water using firebending. She spent the remainder of the time working on fine control, holding flames in her hands upon each of her fingers as if they were candles. It would be hard to catch up on all the learning she had missed during her years without her parents and the years with her Uncle weren't much better. He had promised her a life where she could learn firebending and maybe be part of the army later if she wanted to be. However, whenever she asked to learn, he would say she needed to wait until later.

Of course, it never ended up happening, and she realised this not long after she had begun staying with him. Unfortunately, she had no family or friends and nowhere else to go. She had been stupid enough to stay instead of leaving, mainly because she worried she would have to go back into old habits to survive. After her parents passed away, she survived simply by stealing food and fighting for her life. Eventually, her skill set allowed her to become a thief and escalated further. After some time, she became an expert at getting in and out of places she shouldn't be. The only people who knew about this were her Uncle and a couple of people she had befriended whilst under his care. In fact, the only reason he'd taken her in was that she had been hired by a high-ranking official in the army during the Hundred Year War. She was to sneak into an Earth Kingdom outpost and steal a letter that apparently held details on troop movements. Later, she got an offer to assassinate a political leader in a small Earth Kingdom city. It wasn't something she wanted to do, but she was practically starving with no home or place to go. She accepted and was successful but regretted it immensely. It also began to draw attention to her, and following it, she received a few more high-risk jobs. Once she had completed a messy assassination, it traumatised her, and she gave it all up. After that, her Uncle found her and took her into his care with promises that weren't kept.

The Hundred Year War ended, and nothing much had changed. She had stayed with her Uncle Uzan, who had used her as nothing more than a servant. It was better than starving and even better again than stealing and killing. Before she realised she was in her mid-20s and everything was the same. She hadn't left and taken up a new life elsewhere. She couldn't take more secret missions from the Army or Navy since the War was over, which left her with minimal options for what she could do for a living. She supposed that she had stayed because of some fear that she might starve and die alone.

Fire Lord Zuko had quite literally breathed new fire into her.

His presence had reminded her that she was a strong and capable person. Typically her Uncle wasn't exactly horrible, but he tended to be somewhat condescending, which she eventually got used to. Now she could do what she always wanted: work and live honourably, and not resort to thievery and murder just to get a meal. It would be nice to eventually be able to buy her own place and build a life here. Certainly not something she had expected a few days ago, and not something to change so quickly. She was already exhausted from the day, although there was still an hour or so until sunset. All of the hustle and bustle transporting the prisoners, making her way to the palace, seeing the Fire Lord, and organising everything with Captain Guozhi. It had wiped her out, and she made a conscious effort not to fall asleep in the bath.

Once she felt sufficiently clean and bothered to actually get out, she dried herself off and changed into the only other clothes she owned: a baggy shirt and pants. She would try to buy something more presentable to wear around the palace whilst she wasn't working and get some more toiletries. Being one of the only women in Uzan's camp, there weren't too many options for feminine items. She merely had to take what she could get, which wasn't always too pleasant. Maybe some of the other girls could point her in the right direction so she could stock up somewhere that wasn't too expensive. Her pay wouldn't start until she started working, so she would have to go without until then. She made a quick mental note to ask about how the payment system worked before she headed back to the quarters and placed her dirty clothes in the chest. She would wash them later.

Izara moved towards the kitchen and cafeteria and took her time to find her way and better memorise the route. She would eat here most of the time since she couldn't afford her own food. A few of the staff smiled at her, and she returned it as confidently as possible despite the fact that she probably looked like a homeless person. Her hair was wet and up in a messy bun, and her clothes were a few years old; their original colour had faded from use.

She walked into the cafeteria, which now had a different group of guards, all having a meal together. She wasn't sure if she should engage them just yet, so instead, she headed up to the counter, and one of the staff served her.

"Hi, darling. After some dinner?" It was an older lady, maybe in her 50s, who had a soft, caring voice and a kind smile.

"Uh, y-yes, please." Izara inwardly groaned at her stuttering, but the lady simply smiled at her and nodded.

"What's your name, dearie?" The lady asked as she served her a tray of food.

"Izara. It's my first day in the palace. And your name?" She replied, slightly more confident this time.

"I'm Ling. You work as a guard? You certainly look strong enough." Ling continued putting food on her tray, far more than Izara expected.

"Yes, I've only just arrived. I'm only slightly terrified." Izara admitted quietly, and Ling shared a giggle with her. Although Izara wasn't usually one to admit such things, Ling had such a kind nature that it made her easy to talk to.

"You'll be fine, dear. Fire Lord Zuko looks after all of his staff incredibly well. I'm here most evenings, so I'll ensure you get a good meal too. Ask me if you need anything else too. Always happy to help the young ones."

Izara grinned and thanked her politely before Ling handed her the tray stacked full of food. Clearly, the older woman was more perceptive than she let on and knew that Izara was hungry. The small meal she had earlier was barely enough to keep her going, and it was great to see a tray full of food that all looked fresh and delicious. She sat at one of the free tables by herself, not wanting to bother the other guards who were either on break or eating before returning to their quarters or homes for the night.

After she had eaten, she returned to her room, which she would share with three other girls. Exhausted from the day, she hopped straight into bed to get a good night's rest. She wanted to be in tip-top shape and well-rested since she was training with the Fire Lord himself tomorrow. She vaguely heard people come in the room but kept quiet when they realised someone was already in bed. They whispered to each other about bathing and then disappeared, and by the time they returned, Izara was sleeping deeply…