The following morning was different from usual. Though the war room on the royal family's vessel was not filled with as many soldiers as the previous day, it contained Ozai again and several commanding officers. These officers were trusted–as much as the prince trusted anyone that is. He knew how to offer his trust cleverly. He trusted these soldiers to do what was in their best interest and guaranteed power. The man liked that about them. In his eyes, it made them braver than the fearful souls who would tremble before the laws and expectations his brother set in place. Not everyone would obey Iroh. Some craved the same future Ozai was building. Some were willing to do many things to have that possibility of a future become a reality.
"We will not let this trace back to you, Your Highness," one said, bowing in respect.
That was something else the man enjoyed. They were even willing to put themselves at risk for his sake.
"Your loyalty does not go unnoticed, but it is not required in this situation," he informed them. "In fact, once it is done, I want it to be known that the idea was mine."
This caused some concern to be evident on their faces.
"But if the Firelord–"
"It will not matter soon. Trust me on that matter as you trust me on this."
Though still unable to stop the feeling of worry, the people nodded and bowed again before being dismissed. Ozai watched them leave, smiling. It had been years since he felt this excited. Perhaps he had never felt so excited in his life. That must have been the truth. There had never been a reason to have such a positive emotion regarding the future. What the next day brought had never held much promise for him until then. He would let them pass, miserably awaiting morning only for the cycle to repeat. All of a sudden, he was looking forward to what was to come.
While the prince remained in the room, Zuko had already gone out to train with Sokka. They had been sparring for a little while when Sokka paused for a breath. With a smile, he recalled that he had some information to share.
"I told my dad about us hanging out yesterday."
"I guess it went okay then since you're here."
Sokka laughed. "I mean, he wasn't thrilled, but he could have disliked the idea more. That said, I don't think he'd be up for meeting you yet. You meeting two out of three of my family members isn't awful at least."
"That's understandable." Zuko paused, frowning a little. "Speaking of yesterday, they didn't talk about a lot in the meeting, but my father mentioned the Avatar. He thinks he's still out there."
"Still?"
"They haven't gotten to the Northern Water Tribe, so he isn't sure if that's where he's hiding. Zhao will be going up that way with a fleet of his own soon."
The younger boy's forehead creased with worry. "If we kept in contact with them better, we'd be able to warn them."
"That's not the only place, though. He's not sure if the Avatar is here either."
This made Sokka's jaw drop. "How? Did he think that the group who came to attack just did a bad job of checking? Why would we let the nobles stay here and take over everything if we had the Avatar? Even if he didn't want to fight, we'd make him fight to stop all this from happening."
The future chief could feel himself getting angry and clenched his hands into fists.
"What now then? Is he going to take everyone and test us? How would he even do that? Throw us into some flames and see if we can bend them?"
Taking a breath, he forced himself to calm down. Zuko remained quiet as he did this. Once it seemed like he had, the bender spoke.
"He said something else strange too. He said that if I found the Avatar, he'd excuse all of this."
Sokka's brow lifted. "Which was obviously a lie."
"Yeah…probably."
"Probably? Zuko, I know that sounds nice, but you can't trust him. I don't know why you'd think you could."
"It's not really that I think I can, but…well there's only so much longer he's going to tolerate this, Sokka."
The boy stopped, seeing his friend's nervous expression. "What does that mean?"
"That my father only does things that benefit him. He wouldn't let me be here if he didn't want me to be. It's probably to make things less suspicious while they plan something."
"Yeah, figured as much."
"But when that's done, he's not going to have a reason for us to talk anymore."
Blood drained from Sokka's face as he realized the implication. "He'll kill us?"
Zuko nodded unhappily. "I think so. Me for treason and because he's wanted to for so long, and you because you're from the Water Tribe. But," he added hopefully, "if I find the Avatar, maybe that'll win some of his favor. He might think I'm useful enough to grant our lives. I'd ask that he spared your family's lives too, of course."
"How likely is it that he'd actually be merciful?"
"With the Avatar, very slim; without it, it's not even a factor."
The training warrior's grip tightened around the handle of the machete. "Great. Then, I guess we have to just get to him first."
Zuko's eyes moved to the weapon. "It's a shame you don't have an actual sword. It would make it easier to deflect attacks. You're good enough for one anyway."
"Maybe one of these days I'll get one. It's not like the others have weapons to use either. This just makes me more like them," the boy said, grinning proudly.
His smile faltered as he kept thinking of the impending fight and what the soldiers might be planning.
"Who are you siding with in the battle?"
Sokka knew he was being blunt, but he figured that he might as well be upfront as opposed to waiting. He doubted Zuko would lie and if he did, maybe he could get his answer anyway by seeing the deceit on his face. Instead of looking deceptive, the firebender looked determined.
"I'd side with you. There's no question in my mind about that. My father has to be stopped before he gets worse."
"Can he get worse?"
"I wouldn't put anything past him."
The boy chuckled, feeling relieved that this had been the answer.
"You didn't expect me to say that?" Zuko asked, noticing how he had relaxed.
"I did, but you can never be sure. Family versus friends and all that."
The bender shook his head. "My family is in Ba Sing Se. We wouldn't be fighting against them. I don't trust the soldiers here to write to my uncle or cousin and tell them what's going on. That letter would get burned as soon as it left my hand and they'd never get it anyway. I know for a fact that my father has them checked to be sure that there's nothing dangerous in them. Still, Uncle will come visit us eventually and the battle would be enough to get his attention. When he finds out what's going on, he'll change it. I can't promise he'll have everyone leave, but he won't put restrictions on you."
"At this point, that's an improvement that I'd happily accept. We won't be turned into servants either?"
"It depends if any of you know how to make tea the way he likes it," Zuko half-joked. "If not, then I doubt it."
This offered some comfort to the boy and the friends got back to training. While they did, the Fire Nation princess found her schedule with an opening and a way to fill this time. She left the vessel, not wasting minutes by going to the areas with the settlements. That did not intrigue her. Therefore, the girl went to where the people from the Water Tribe were staying. She did not conceal her presence. To Azula, they did not deserve her stealth. They were future slaves at best, future corpses at worst. So, she would do what she wanted and she wanted to be noticed.
As they saw her, she saw them and their eyes. Azula was a people person. Though this was not in the traditional sense of interacting well with others, she was good at interpreting their actions. Through their eyes and facial expressions, she could tell who was a warrior or a cook, determined or afraid. This was one of her many skills that she loved. She also loved how it would help her find the Avatar.
Azula kept walking around the tribe until she had gone everywhere but the coast. She knew there was an area outside of where Zuko would be by the shipwreck, so she went there. There would be no location left unsearched. Her father already adored her, but the nation would worship her once the Avatar was in their possession. Shortly, she reached her destination and saw someone by the water, washing clothes. Katara could sense someone behind her and tensed before turning around. Once she did, she saw cold, penetrating eyes staring back at her. The younger girl had never seen such viciousness. Azula saw something too when she looked into the other girl's eyes.
"You're one of the only children I've seen here," she said, looking down at her. "At least that means you'll have your entire life to serve my family."
"'Your family?'" Katara asked, frowning. "You're part of the royal family?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Suddenly, her disposition became more hostile. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've seen you in the hut of your tribe's chief. You're most likely his daughter, so expect for your family to receive special treatment since no one is conquered more than the former rulers of a nation. Although," she added, looking doubtful, "I would hardly consider this a nation."
She paused, watching the Water Tribe girl glare at her. When Katara did nothing more, Azula spoke again.
"You'll be my personal servant. If you do a good enough job, I might allow you a daily meal even though the human body doesn't require that."
"I'm not going to be your servant."
"You already are. The only difference will be that you'll become my personal servant soon. Admittedly, I won't be here long enough for you to get accustomed to that, so we'll probably just sell your family to a noble living here for a fair price. Some of them would enjoy flogging your father with fire whips. His screams would be audible from the Fire Nation."
Katara's body began to tremble with anger. She wished that she could have been a stronger bender because she would have used her skills to attack the princess. Azula saw this and appeared amused.
"If I didn't know better, I might think you wanted to attack me. Or maybe you'll get the Avatar to do it."
Katara lifted a brow at her, shocked. "The Avatar isn't here."
"But our soldiers did miss someone when they came here." Azula paused, looking bored for a moment. "There's something interesting about benders, I've noticed. We have a certain demeanor. I think it's because of the power we wield. Even poor benders have it. I know that because I've seen it in my brother as well. The fiercest nonbenders could never dream of our potential. So, that's why I know the soldiers could miss someone because they have before. They missed you."
Heart stopping for a moment, Katara tried to steady her breathing. She did her best to speak in an even voice.
"What are you talking about? I'm not a bender."
Azula tilted her head in curiosity. Without warning, she blasted a stream of blue fire at the girl's feet. Katara stumbled backwards to avoid getting burned. Another stream shot at her head and she fell onto her back. Azula used her foot to kick fire towards her core, forcing Katara to roll out of the way. As more blasts came at her, she ran and jumped into the water. The princess let fire propel her into the sky so that she could hover above the ocean. Peering down, she saw the girl had disappeared into the water. With a scoff, Azula got back to land, rolling her eyes at the ocean, deciding to resume her search later. She returned to the vessel while Katara stayed underwater. The girl's heart was pounding and she could hear it in her ears. She did not know if the firebender was still there, but she could not hold her breath much longer. Desperately, she tried to control some of the water around herself.
"Please work," she thought.
To her delight, she was able to create a bubble to stick her head in and breathe. She remained there until the cold water caused her to shake. While she was there, Lu Ten headed to a town near Ba Sing Se. He would be meeting with some of the original town officials. It was an idea of his so that it felt less like the people were losing their home and more like they were gaining neighbors. He had gone three times so far, all on the same day of the week. The young man had gotten into his father's habit of scheduled events. It made things so organized and peaceful.
"You all look well," he said cordially, still surprising them with the warmth that he kept showing.
"You as well, Lieutenant."
Lu Ten gestured to a table and the group ordered jade tea. When the beverages arrived, they got to business.
"Have there been any complaints against the soldiers since the last time?"
"No," one official assured him. "Since our last conversation, there have been no reports of anyone being attacked." There was a brief pause as the woman's voice became sincere. "Thank you for doing this. I can't tell you how much this means to everyone. You can walk into shops like this and not feel so much fear anymore."
Smiling, the prince answered, "I won't consider it a completed job until there isn't any fear at all. I hope that day is soon, which brings me to the next point. What are some plans you had for the town's future? I was hoping we could combine ideas."
Someone else spoke up this time. "We planned on building a school for adults who wanted to start a new craft."
"I like that," Lu Ten said, grinning. "It's never too late to learn somethi–"
The people regarded him curiously due to his pause. The young man set down his cup and put a hand to his face. He felt strange. A dizziness suddenly hit him and he leaned back in his seat. One of the officials noticed and looked at him with concern, putting a hand on his. It was cold and clammy.
"Lieutenant," she said, worried.
His head was spinning. Lu Ten tried to stand up, but his knees buckled. The other officials caught him before he could hit the ground. They called his name, but he could barely hear them.
"M-my…dad," he mumbled.
Lu Ten kept trying to stand on his own until he could no longer. Relying on the other people to be kept upright, he heard the sound drift out of his ears. Dark dots filled his vision. Soon, the sensation of hands on his arms faded and he only felt one thing: coldness. Soon enough, this too left. He was no longer dizzy or feeling ill. He felt nothing at all. It was all over.
