Zhao threw the maps on his desk against the wall in a fit of rage. Why do all bad things happen to me? he thought between gritted teeth.

Weeks had passed since the Avatar had escaped from his clutches and bad luck seemed to follow him since then. First the Avatar had escaped from the fortress and then he lost to him for the second time and he burned down his own ships in the process.

He leaned forward and placed his elbows on his desk. While rubbing his temples with his fingers, he thought of all the misfortunes that had happened. And if that was not enough, around the Stronghold the revolts began to increase. More than once had a convey been attacked and the food supplies stolen which were meant for Fire Nation troops.

The fact that everything around him seemed to crumble was bad enough, but the worst part was that he felt he was not the one in command anymore in the Stronghold.

The last weeks he had continue to use the Stronghold as his basis, so he could arrange his plans from one of the most important fortresses in the occupied Earth Kingdom. And in those weeks, he had noticed a change in his young fiancée: she was more outspoken, more confident and actively engaged in discussions and decisions.

The first months of their engagement, he had barely spoken to her. Of course, he had attended to her every day for an hour and what he saw during those moments, pleased him. She was quiet, demure and agreed with his every word. She never had anything particularly important to say, which was enough for him to convince himself she would do just fine as a wife. They had barely entertained guests or had important visitors when he was situated at the harbour, so he saw no reason to dine with her on a regular basis.

But now with him promoted to Admiral and in charge of the Fire Nation Navy, they dined with important guests and high ranking officers almost every evening. And she played her part graciously. She really blossomed in her role as hostess and was able to converse with everyone. Every guest complimented him on her hospitality and kindness.

And it bothered him.

For the first time, he noticed how intelligent she was. Beautiful she had always been, that he had noticed right away. Her beauty combined with her noble status and riches made her a perfect bride, since everything she owned would be his once they marry. Even her noble status would rub off on him and his descendants.

But now he realized she had a voice as well, which made him slightly uncomfortable. She conversed with the generals and nobility over a variety of subjects. She was able to hold a conversation with anyone about a wide range of topics. He knew she liked to read, which he did not discourage since women should have a hobby, but now he only realised she overshadowed him in his own position.

The praise he received on her behalf infuriated him even more. At first he had been pleasently surprised by her newfound confidence, but that disappeared when he saw that the other officers and guests preferred her company over his own. The praise he used to receive was transferred to her. He would never admit it, but he was jealous. She was young and beautiful and he did not fail to notice she was his superior when it came to intellect. He found it hard to believe, but he got the impression she got bored with him very quickly.

He groaned as he was informed dinner was to be served in an hour.

"Very good!" Kun said with an appreciative nod as the girl swept her hair out of her eyes.

Elyrie wiped the sweat from her forehead as she turned to him with a smile, slightly panting after the effort to master the fire daggers.

For the past few weeks, she had been training like never before in the arena of the Stronghold.

A large oval ring with a stone floor on the lowest level of the Pagoda Tower, the arena was mostly used for Agni Kai battles and for training new recruits. But Zhao had send away all the new recruits to the corners of the Earth Kingdom as his personal messengers. The Stronghold seemed to be deserted, except for the guards and archers who stayed behind to ensure the safety of the occupants.

Now, the Stronghold was mainly used as Zhao's basis to plan his strategies against the rising revolts, but more importantly, to plan his capture of the Avatar.

For Elyrie, this meant long days without any other form of entertainment. With Jin and Kun, she spent her mornings and afternoons. In the evenings, she was expected to attend to Zhao and his guests as a hostess.

Kun, who had stayed behind as her personal guard, had seen her practicing on her own. A trained firebender himself, he saw her potential and offered to help her in the deserted arena. Not sure whether the Admiral would approve, they agreed to do this as discrete as possible.

Alone, she trained Iroh's forms of firebreathing technique. Kun on the other hand continued to teach her the basics and later on, advanced forms.

Kun looked at the young woman, who swept the hair over her shoulder as she tried it a second time. Her style of bending was unconventional, bur very effective. She trained with an iron discipline and was advancing more quickly than he had thought. Her lack of training in her earlier years was evident and she had adopted a more vagabond, circular way of bending. Almost like a waterbender, he mused as he uncrossed his arms to clap his hands together.

"Miss, it is time." He said. Wiping the sweat of her forehead, she bowed to Kun. She was forever thankful for him teaching her during the day. It made the long, tedious days in the Stronghold bearable. Kun tossed her a towel to dry herself before he helped her in an overcoat to cover up her training gear.

As they climbed the stairs back to her rooms, Elyrie wondered what Zhao was doing. She doubted he would notice her absence during the day. As long as she was back in time for dinner, no one would miss her.

Jin looked up when Elyrie entered the room. She repressed a smile at the look of her Lady in trousers and a tunic as she took off her coat. Her long curls, sticking out by her temples from the activity, were tied back in a long braid.

As long as Elyrie practiced during the day, Jin was free to entertain herself. She put down the book she had started and stood up to attend to her Lady.

"What did you think?" Elyrie asked as she motioned to the book on the low table.

"Very good!" Jin answered as she loosened the braid and combed her fingers through the auburn curls, "I never thought history could be so fascinating!." Elyrie smiled as she picked up the book. The History of the Pan Hua region, one of her favourites as she stayed her. Colonel Shinu had been so kind to lend it to her and now Jin was profiting from it.

Jin walked to the bath chamber to fill the tub. Looking as the water filled the marble tub, she followed the small wrinkles in the water. Adding jasmine scent to the bath, she let the scent take her back home. Jasmine was the flower of her hometown. She came from a poorer part of the Fire Nation, where her parents were flower merchants. It was not enough though, to feed their large family. With aging parents and six siblings, they depended entirely on her for income. With her 26 years, she should have been married according to Fire Nation tradition, but it simply never was an option. She had been a servant all her life, but only with Elyrie did she feel as an equal.

She was fond of the younger girl, like a little sister. And she knew the girl was attached to her too. She was thankful Elyrie had encouraged her to continue her studies, so she maybe someday could take a job as a clerk or even a teacher. She smiled at the prospect.

"Ready, Miss?" she said as she saw steam and bubbles forming above the water surface.

"Colonel Shinu informed me you met the Dragon of the West a couple of weeks ago?" Colonel Lee asked her as he picked up his wine. He was delighted to sit next to the Admirals fiancée, who was a charming companion. A man with an eye for women, he was instantly smitten when he saw her unusual beauty. This, combined with her intelligent ways of conversing made her a wonderful hostess. She was closer to his own age than the other high ranking officers. Moreover, she knew the Dragon of the West personally. Lee had admired the famous general his whole life and wanted to know more about this legendary firebender.

"I did." Elyrie answered as she subconsciously touched the scar on her temple. The Colonel noticed it.

"Is that where you got the scar? I heard you got separated during a storm."

"Yes, it was an unfortunate accident." She answered diplomatically.

"But the Dragon of the West helped you?" the Colonel asked, trying to get the whole story out of her.

"Actually, it was Prince Zuko who was the one that helped me." She said, suddenly turning her head with sparkling eyes. Her open face revealed gratitude as she spoke of the kindness the old General and the banished prince had bestowed on her.

With one ear however, she listened in on the conversation on the other side of the table.

It regarded the rebel attacks, especially on the convoys. Zhao was preparing a fleet, she had heard but so did the rest of the Earth kingdom.

Out of fear, they rebelled against the plans.

Lee brought her back to the present. "And now you stay here for the time being?"

"I do. I find it most fascinating to observe the unfolding strategies my fiancé comes up with." she said with a stiff smile. Smile and nod, smile and nod.

Lee let out a low chuckle. "Why do I feel this is not all you have to say about the matter?"

Looking at his handsome face, she involuntarily thought of Zuko. She sighted. "Most of the miseries in the world were caused by war. And when the wars were over, no-one really knew what they were about."

'Ah a woman's view on politics-", Zhao quickly chimed in, overhearing her statement.

Elyrie groaned. The young Colonel saw the face of the girl change, her pretty features twisting as she pressed her lips together.

"Maybe Elyrie can attend our next war council tomorrow? She has some interesting insights" Lee asked while turning to the Admiral. He had no high opinion of the pompous man, who was arrogant and obnoxious. But it seemed his fiancée was more aware of the situation than she let on and he would love to hear more of her. And see more of her, he mentally added as he quickly glanced at her large blue eyes and delicate cheekbones. She was certainly easier on the eye than her middle-aged fiancé.

Surprised, Elyrie's eyes looked at the brown ones of the Colonel. He subtly winked at her, as if to let her in on his little plan. His boyish smile made her grin back, as if they were naughty schoolchildren taunting the Headmaster.

Smiling behind her cup of wine, Elyrie waited for the response.

Weeks of building rapport with the Generals, Colonels and other high ranking officers led to this moment. The remaining guests turned to Zhao with expectant looks on their faces. Colonel Shinu was the first to speak up.

"I think it is a wonderful idea." he said while smiling at the young girl at the other end of the table. She smiled and raised her glass to the older Colonel.

"I suppose she could listen to our plans, since it may be beneficial for the wife of an Admiral to learn a few things about her husbands occupation." Zhao answered with hestitation in his voice.

Elyrie gave him her sweetest smile and gently bowed her head in gratitude. Inwardly, she did not miss the meaning behind his words.

"I will see you tomorrow then." Lee said as he took her hand into his own and swiftly kissed the back of her hand. Smiling broadly, she made a small curtsy at the charming young man.

As she stood up to leave, Zhao grabbed her wrist. It was rather forceful and she repressed the urge to pull her arm back.

"I was thinking, maybe it would be convenient for you to start living in the capital until the wedding? In your old house." He said, trying to sound casual. But his eyes conveyed a different message; they were hard and forceful.

Switfly, she pulled her hand back to sweep a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"That is certainly possible. After all, my father left the house to me." She answered, not completely unable to hide the sharp tone of her voice. Her father had left her in his will their townhouse for whenever she wanted to live in it. He had hoped she would move in with her future husband. And of course, as soon as Zhao got word of that, he had declared the house as his own.

Climbing the stairs back up for the second time today, she saw her house in her minds eye. One of the great mansions near the Royal Palace, it had been for generations in her fathers family. Three stories high with a beautiful garden, it had been their own palace in the middle of the crowded city.

Her old bedroom, the library, the large kitchen where she used the hide and steal sweets. Her mothers dressing room, where she sat on a sofa. Her own little legs barely able to reach the ground, she watched her mother dressing up for formal events. Taking in all the beauty, she silently sat there. And whenever her mother was finished, she would kiss her daughter on her cheek so her lipstick would needed to be redone once again.

Her fathers study was always open. The large leather chair in which her father used to spin her around when she was young. And later, when she showed talent for reading and writing, he had taken it upon himself to teach her subjects near to his heart.

Zuko had visited as often as he could, enjoying the relaxed sphere in the house. Playing together in the gardens, her mother had taught them to swim. She had requested a large pond in the garden, large enough to fit at least ten people, so she could swim whenever she desired. Elyrie had learned to swim from a very young age, yet was always clinging onto her mothers neck as she strongly made her way through the water. It made her feel safe.

She had not been back to the house after her father had died, almost a year ago now. Too many memories, she thought as she twisted a curl around her finger.

Her mother had died when she was ten years old after a short sickbed. Her father had told her Mama had died due to a fever, not uncommon in the Fire Nation. Most people recovered from it, but her mother did not. She remembered the beautiful face of her mother in the white sheets. Her caramel-coloured skin had been paler then Elyrie had ever seen it. Her long fingers had grasped her small hands and kissed them.

My dearest darling, never change who you are. You are my smart, strong, happy and beautiful girl. I love you

Elyrie had not even cried then. She had been too young to fully comprehend that it was to be goodbye for ever.

I love you too Mama.

Her mother had spoken to her in her native tongue, not the Common Tongue spoken by everyone or even the High Language of the Fire Nation elite. Elyrie had understood her, since her mother had always spoken to her in her native tongue. Elyrie was fluent in the nameless language: she always liked to think that it was sort of a secret language her mother and she shared. She had never heard anyone speak the language again, but now just assumed it had been a strong dialect from the colonies.

She had been in a state of shock. Not shedding a tear, not even during the funeral. Clinging onto her father, she stood silently as she watched her mothers casket burn, as per Fire Nation tradition. And not even a decade later, she would watch her father endure the same fate. But now, she was all alone with no one to comfort her.

When her mother died, she had her father beside her. But he was gone. No Lady Ursa, who took it upon herself to look after the motherless girl as best she could. No Uncle Iroh, who comforted the scared little girl. No Zuko, who comforted her in her grief. No one.

And she had cried when she was alone. Cried like never before in her life. And had not cried again after that.

Not until she was forced to be separated from Zuko again, only mere weeks ago.

Opening her door, Elyrie forced herself to return to the present. Having dismissed Jin earlier that evening so she could catch up on her reading, she arrived in an empty room. On autopilot, she filled the tub for the second time today and undressed herself.

Lowering herself in the hot water, she pulled the pins and pearls out of her hair and let her curls float on the water.

Closing her eyes and leaning back, she thought about Zhao's thinly veiled threat. He wanted her gone, that much was certain. As soon as possible for that matter.

I can't leave now, not with all of this coming up. But the question is: what now? Keep her head low and hope he'll forget it soon enough? She doubted it.

Zhao was many things, but an idiot was not one of them. He had worked his way up to the position of Admiral based on his cunning and ruthless ambition. She had to be very careful, because there was one thing she should never forget in this partnership: he wanted to be the one in charge.

She groaned. In the process of making a name for herself, she forgot the most important adversary. Zhao was a vain man and in her blindness, she had ignored the effect her manipulations had on him.

I am such a fool, she mentally cursed. Never forget who your real opponent is when you play the game. And she had forgotten it. If I do what he wants, I can do what I want. And there must be a way to have both, she was sure of it.

She lowered herself in the bath until the water had completely submerged her.

Her intuition told her that silence may no longer be an option in the near future.

When the storm rises up

When the shadows descend

Every beat of my heart

Everyday without end

Elyrie abrupty stopped when there was a knock on the door. Colonel Shinu stopped playing the harpsicord as he heard the door behind him open. Turning around, they saw Kun.

"I am sorry to disturb you, Colonel, Miss," he said with a polite nod, "But the council will begin in a few minutes"

"Thank you Kun." Elyrie said as she straightened her dress. Colonel Shinu rose from his seat and offered her his arm.

"I must say, you have an astonishing voice." He said as the walked to the second floor of the Pagoda Tower, "It reminds me of a singer I was fortunate enough to hear many years ago."

Shinu was grateful for her presence. Their shared love of music made the presence of Zhao in his Stronghold more bearable. He detested the man, but his sweet fiancée was the opposite. Delighted that she knew his favourite song, he had started playing for her before they were interrupted.

"Maybe we could finish later?" he suggested as the entered the warchamber.

"I would love that." she answered with an enchanting smile.

After he had guided her to her seat, on the left side of Zhao at the high table, he sat down cross-legged next to the other officers. Lee winked at her with a boyish smile on his handsome face from a few seats away. She pouted her lips to stifle a grin. Looking around, she saw four other officers present. All nodded to her, except the grey-haired General closest to her. He pretended not to see her, so it seemed.

Zhao coughed to get the attention of the men, and woman, present.

"We are here to discuss the urgent matter at hand." he began while motioning to the large map behind him. Elyrie looked and quickly found the Stronghold on the map, near the sea. However, Zhao pointed at a village, a few miles away.

"This village harbours the most rebels and munition. If we repress them, the revolts will cease to be." Zhao said, "But more importantly, they will be able to give us the information we need to repress the entire rebellion at once. "

"How do you plan to do this?" Colonel Shinu asked

"My informants know that this villages harbours the leaders, so it will be easy to extract the information from them." Zhao answered with a wicked grin. That grin made the hairs in Elyrie's neck rise.

"And how do you manage to persuade them?" Colonel Lee asked, frowning his eyebrows at the Admiral.

"Persuasion." The older General answered, who had not given her a glance, while his eyes had an evil gleam in them, "Fire is wild and dangerous when left uncontrolled. I suggest we set our beautiful element loose."

'It will not break the rebellion. It will only strengthen their hate against the Fire Nation and fuel their desire to win." Elyrie answered, her soft voice so different from the others.

"You better learn your fiancée to hold her tongue in the presence of a man." The older general said with disdain in his voice. The older General turned to face her for the first time since she entered the room.

When the yellow eyes looked at her, she felt a shiver going down her spine. She knew those viper-like eyes. She remembered him. He was the general that Zuko had offended, all those years ago. He looked older, but those viperlike eyes still were the same. She had seen him in the Agni Kai-chamber, standing on the side of the Fire Lord. Uncle Iroh had pointed him out to her, before the reveal of the actual opponent.

She had always felt guilty for persuading Zuko to become more involved with matters of state. She was the one who pushed him to try and attend a war council, only to see it turning around in the worst way possible. Only because Zuko did the honourable thing, she thought.

Not breaking eyecontact, she rose from her seat. Digging her nails into her palms, she stared at the older man. His pale skin showed stains, revealing his advanced age. His grey hair was thinning near his temples and his lips were thin and formed into a grimace. Raising a single arched eyebrow, she took a breath.

"Yet you cannot-" she began.

"I have heard enough from you!" Zhao suddenly yelled at her. All his frustration about her came to a boiling point, "You should be wise and do what we all expect from you: stay silent."

She felt her cheeks heat up at the insult. Forcing herself to remain stoic, she turned to him. "Why do you think you can justify death?" she said with a voice burning like a venom.

Then, she nodded to the others and left the room with her head held high.

The following morning at breakfast, Zhao entered to speak to her. This was unusual: she usually ate her breakfast alone and only saw Zhao at dinner. But her breakfast was one she ate alone, always. So the single reason he had for coming, must be to reprimand her. She mentally sighed and looked up at Zhao with innocent eyes.

"I hope you slept well." Zhao said stiffly, not taking his eyes of her. She nodded and added with a small smile "Yes, thank you very much for your concern."

Zhao kept looking at her, as if unsure what to say next. After a few moments, he added "You need to refrain from speaking out."

Elyrie nodded, while pensively thinking about the hypocrisy. She knew better than to respond, so she nodded and kept everything inward. As usual, she thought. Yet her temper started to flare up, which was highly unusual. .

"Elyrie, do you hear me? My reputation is at stake." Zhao added more harshly.

"We wouldn't want that." Elyrie said while looking at her cup of tea, unable to fully hide the sarcasm in her voice.

"What did you say to me?" Zhao said with wide eyes. She had never spoken back to him.

Elyrie looked up, irritated and said: "I said that we wouldn't want your reputation to be tarnished. That would be completely unbearable."

Zhao's eyes narrowed as he looked at his blue-eyed fiancée. He would not tolerate this mocking behaviour. She must know her place. "You are not allowed to ever speak like that again. You are lucky the general did not take it too seriously since you are only a woman." He said firmly.

That did it.

After all those months of silently playing the dutiful fiancée, she had enough. Elyrie stood up, slowly and elegantly.

"What do you think I am? Some sparrowkeet you can teach to say pretty words and muzzle when you want to?" she said with an icy voice. Zhao's eyes widened in surprise. "I don't know if you noticed, or cared to notice for that matter, but the only reason I spoke up is to prevent any more useless violence." she finished with fire in her eyes. "That is not how you treat your fiancée."

Her words were like rapid fireshots, following each other quickly. He was dumbfounded, unable to comprehend the meaning of those words. But his temper flared up and within a second, he had kicked the table over.

"My fiancée?! Yes, you are and soon you'll be my wife!" he roared. "You should respect me, and help Agni if you don't." he continued raising his hand.

When he kicked over the table , flames started to dance around Elyrie's fingertips. She hid her hand behind her back, but felt the familiar warmth spreading through her hands. She could strike him, she could take him. She was not as helpless as he had thought, she was far stronger than he would ever be. As he approached her, she felt her bending growing stronger. It was like Uncle had said: fire thrives on emotions and at that moment, she was furious. She was not afraid of him, not even a little bit.

But through the fog of her anger, she saw a small light. Her common sense tried to make it's way through the thick fog. She thought quickly, weighing her options as she saw the whole picture more clear. She would be guarded every moment if she fought back now. Even if she could take Zhao down, she had nowhere to go now, so no real chance of escape. He would not give her an opportunity to escape once he knew what she was capable of. She would be locked up.

She dropped to her knees, with a bowed head and faked her shivering. Zhao stopped, and looked down on her. She looked up with wide eyes at him, as if to apologize.

Zhao said harshly: "Do you understand?" She nodded quickly, and looked down again. Zhao straightened his back and walked away, content he had shown her her place.

When he had left, she let out a breath and noticed the burned spot on the carpet where her hand had been. She smiled.

"Don't you worry," she whispered while raising her chin, "I know my place."