Chapter 27
"Aang. We're back." Zuko said, gently nudging his friend awake as they began their descent towards the Fire Nation Palace.
Aang stirred with a groan to signal that he was awake. They had only stopped for the night to let Appa get some rest. They'd gotten up early and set off again, making good time since the weather had been perfect for travelling. Since neither of them slept very well while they were away, it was nice to doze while travelling. Surely, plenty of work awaited him when he got home, so he couldn't spend an entire day in bed to recover.
When they landed in the courtyard, Katara came out to greet them, hugging Zuko and kissing Aang on the cheek. She didn't leave Appa out, giving him a pat and a snack, consisting of a basket of fruit she must have prepared beforehand. The sky bison immediately enjoyed the snack, and Momo appeared abruptly to share it with him after running across Aang's arm and shoulders.
"How did it go?" She asked in a bubbly tone, pleased to have them back.
"Actually, it went well. A couple that owned a restaurant really helped us out." Aang grinned when he mentioned the men, and Zuko nodded in agreement.
"I don't think we'd have returned on time if it wasn't for them. I probably would have burned someone if it wasn't for them." Zuko added with a tired sigh.
"Was it that bad?" Katara asked with concern, glancing between the two of them.
"I yelled at everyone on the third day," Zuko answered and glowered at the memory of everyone yelling at each other across the room.
"He went full Fire Lord on them. It was kinda cool." Aang said with a laugh, and Zuko rolled his eyes.
"The couple overheard us talking over dinner while we were eating at their restaurant. They didn't even want to charge us for our meals even though we sat there until they had been closed for at least an hour." He relayed more information while Aang put his arm around Katara affectionately. "They spoke to all the townspeople to get them on our side. I have no idea how they managed it, but they did."
"Aw, that's so sweet of them. You should send them a thank you gift or something." Katara suggested to Aang, who turned to her and nodded in agreement.
"We should. I'll think about what to send them." Aang said with a thoughtful glance at Zuko.
"Spices. They said that spices from the Fire Nation had helped their business to become more popular." Zuko abruptly remembered that part of the conversation, pleased to know that the Fire Nation exports had been good for them and also gave his citizens a piece of home despite being so far away.
"Yes!" Aang exclaimed loudly in agreement and thumped Zuko on the shoulder excitedly. "That's a great idea."
"Where are the other two?" Zuko asked about Sokka and Suki after he'd recovered from the surprisingly solid thump from Aang.
"They're with your Uncle. He's moving some furniture into the new shop." Katara answered, and Zuko was pleasantly surprised.
"He found somewhere suitable? I'll have to go check it out." The Fire Lord smiled since this meant his uncle would stay to get the new Jasmine Dragon up and running for the foreseeable future.
"I think the owner was happy to sell the place quickly when he learned it was your uncle buying it. We can go and see them now if you want. Why don't you guys put your stuff down, and I'll take you there?" Katara suggested, and the two nodded in agreement.
They headed inside and put their packs down in their respective rooms to be dealt with later. Afterwards, they met in the hallway and approached the new Jasmine Dragon premises in the Capital. Katara talked about what had happened while they'd been away, catching them up on anything and everything of importance. Most of it was all just general everyday occurrences, and thankfully, nothing too chaotic. She mentioned that Izara needed to speak to him about something rather urgent, but nothing pressing was required from him right now. Her tone was cryptic enough that it gave him pause, but he figured everything was under control since Katara wasn't panicking.
Within a ten-minute walk, they saw Sokka outside a small building, lugging some boxes inside. A few other staff were helping out, but Sokka yelled out to them in greeting when he spotted them. Katara rolled her eyes at her brother's obnoxiousness, but Zuko and Aang were pleased to see him. They quickly hugged before heading inside to where tables and chairs were set up. Suki was lifting some rather heavy stacks of crockery, surprising Iroh with her strength. He was laughing off to one side, grinning from ear to ear. Zuko smiled, too, seeing his uncle so happy. Seeing his uncle's dreams becoming a reality gave him such a warm, fuzzy feeling.
A moment later, Izara, carrying a large box, emerged from behind a wall in regular clothing. Iroh spotted his nephew at the same time and beamed brightly. Zuko's attention was drawn to his uncle, his cheerful voice sounding out to greet them.
"Nephew! Aang! Glad you are home safe!" Iroh exclaimed happily, walking over to greet them both.
Zuko hugged his uncle, and Aang jumped in to wrap his arms around them and join the embrace, making them all laugh. Izara bowed when they all separated, showing respect to the Avatar and the Fire Lord. Zuko frowned at her for her formality but was quickly distracted, and his uncle led him around the tea shop to show him where he wanted to set everything up.
"This is where I'll set up the tables. I'll have one here, here and here, and a larger table over here." Iroh pointed out where he would put the tables and chairs his customers would eventually sit at. "The counter will go here."
The staff were carrying in all of the kitchen equipment he would need. Izara walked past a few times, carrying boxes and kept to herself as she focused on her task. Toph's voice could be heard, but it sounded like she was out the back door, directing people what to take next. Zuko poked his head out the open door to see her and yelled hello. Even though she couldn't see him, the gesture of him trying to say hello to her was still necessary. She grinned back at him, seeming to enjoy telling people where to go and what to do.
When Iroh had finished showing him where everything would be laid out and how he had planned to decorate the place, Zuko allowed his attention to turn to Izara. He couldn't see her and didn't notice when Aang, Katara, Sokka, Suki and Iroh all saw him looking around for her and shared a look and smile between them. Toph was talking with Izara outside and heard them chatting about something to do with the prison. Izara looked solemn and turned her head once Toph gestured towards him with a tilt of her chin.
"What is it?" He asked, concerned and frowning.
"I have something to discuss with you. Would you accompany me when you return to the Palace?" Izara asked politely and professionally.
"We should go now, then," Zuko suggested, waiting for her to nod in agreement after Izara glanced at Toph. He sensed it was something serious and assumed this was what Katara was discussing.
"We've got this here. You guys go." Toph said, her face serious.
Zuko and Izara walked back through the tea shop that had started to fill with furniture and other supplies. Izara stopped next to Iroh, who shared a long look with her, clearly knowing what was going on. Apparently, they'd gotten to know each other quite well while Izara guarded his uncle.
"I'll come with you." Iroh offered and looked to the others.
"We'll be here," Suki said with a smile. Sokka gave a thumbs up and a grin.
Iroh appeared reassured that everything was under control and headed off with them. Zuko talked to his uncle about the happenings on their trip, and Izara strolled behind them, giving them some space to catch up.
When they returned to the Palace, Izara remained quiet while others were around. She only began to speak when they were in an empty hallway.
"While you were gone, I took someone into custody that I suspected of being involved with the Supremacists. I saw him lingering suspiciously when the General left and returned from an outing. I also remembered a smell from the siege and smelt it on him. He's in a cell in the Palace, waiting for your judgement." She spoke with a firm tone, showing her concern. "I have interrogated him at length and confirmed my suspicions."
"Lady Izara is also leaving out that he was carrying an encrypted letter and poison, which she ingested to prove this since the man lied about what it was," Iroh said quietly, ensuring she didn't omit this fact.
"What?!" Zuko's voice was raised but out of angry concern. "Why the fuck did you do that? Are you okay?" He took hold of her shoulders, making her face him.
"I'm fine! It didn't have much of an effect on me. Just a rash and a fever that disappeared in a day. It had the desired effect." She tilted her head back from him and raised her hands defeatedly.
"Did you know that it was poison?" Zuko questioned pointedly.
"Yes, I recognised the smell. He said it was to treat indigestion, but it was a poison made from the ukoma flower." She answered, keeping her eyes lowered to not look at him.
Releasing her, Zuko groaned loudly and kept walking. Iroh was beside him, and Izara stayed a few steps back, staring at the ground. The conversation was briefly halted as Zuko marched ahead angrily. Izara followed behind meekly, but his uncle seemed relatively calm. When they got to the small sitting room, Zuko closed the door behind them, giving them privacy and declining when a staff member offered to bring them something. Iroh had already sat down by the time he turned around, but Izara stood to attention with her hands behind her back, her head still down. She didn't turn to look at him when he gave her a once over, trying to see any traces of lingering issues due to the poisoning.
Sighing again, he finally sat down and indicated for Izara to do the same. She didn't sit, standing with her hands linked behind her back, and he could see from the tension in her body that she was expecting his ire.
"Please tell me everything. From the start." Zuko said, keeping his voice even.
"Lady Izara came to see me early in the morning, even though she wasn't working. She had knocked out the prisoner, taken him into custody, and left him in a cell overnight. She told me about the poison and the note and interrogated him briefly." Iroh spoke before Izara could, seeming like he was coming to her defence.
If Zuko hadn't been so worried about everything, he would have found it slightly endearing and been happy that his uncle had clearly taken a shine to Izara. He could examine that later.
###
"Are you all right?" Iroh asked Izara, who was sweating and had gone pale with the effects of the poison. "Lady Katara is at your disposal."
"I'm okay. I'm going to go back in there after giving him more time to panic." Izara probably looked worse than she felt, having been used to feeling like this as she dosed herself with various poisons over the years.
"I must insist that you see Katara after you speak to our prisoner." The General's voice became firm, and Izara nodded in obeisance to his order.
"Of course, my Lord." She bowed her head and then left the room.
Izara went to the prison, and Kazan gave her a quick nod to say that everything was okay. They talked for a while about her game plan, and she worked on eating a chunk of bread and had some herbal tea Iroh had suggested to try and get her fever down. Although it did help to lower her fever, it didn't break even after another hour, so all she could do was try and wipe the sweat off to appear as if she was mostly unaffected by the poison. Some of the colour returned to her skin after she'd eaten, so it was a perfect time to go in.
Gesturing with a tilt of her head for him to follow her, Izara led him to the door to the cell holding Barzan. Kazan opened the door for her to enter after he unlocked it, and Izara put on her best act, strolling confidently inside.
"How?" Barzan said, dumbfounded, with his eyes wide and his jaw dropped. "You should be dead."
Dramatically, she made a show of holding two fingers to the pulse point on her neck, nodding in satisfaction.
"And yet, I am not dead." She said with a shrug. "Your poison wasn't enough to kill me."
"I don't understand." Barzan's shoulders dropped in defeat.
"I think you have yet to realise just how strong those of us who are defending the Fire Nation are. We will not fail. We will not yield, and we will not lose to the likes of your rebellion." Izara's voice was emphatic and firm, and she paced across the small cell as she spoke with her hands linked behind her back. "Now speak. Tell me what I wish to know."
And so he did. Barzan began to talk, and Kazan began scribbling down everything he was saying to keep a record. Barzan didn't know anywhere near as much as she hoped, though. She learned that his job was to scout the military presence in the Capital, but unfortunately, he didn't have any information on why they needed this information and what they planned to do with it. He'd gotten involved with the Supremacists because of his brother, who had joined after being kicked out of the military after the war ended because of his cruelty to those under his command. He told her anything he could, including some of the previous bases and safehouses the rebellion had used; however, Barzan was confident that they'd moved by now since he hadn't reported back in. She asked him various questions about the size of their forces, logistics and weaponry that they had, but he only had limited information. He had only ever been in one of the safehouses they had used and thus only knew what happened in that base. Due to his low position in the Supremacists, he wasn't aware of any plans for the future, including whether they were planning an attack. He had assumed they were planning something since he was scouting the Capital's military strength, but he couldn't be sure.
Izara eventually stood up, pleased with everything she had learned, and thanked Barzan. He was still in shock and made a strange noise that stopped her from walking away.
"How did you survive the poison? I watched you drink it." He asked slowly.
"The ukoma flower poison has minimal effect on me. I am immune to most common poisons." She answered truthfully since he had been honest with her...eventually.
"That's impossible..." He replied, shaking his head in disbelief.
"I'll tell you why. Zara crouched low, even though only Kazan could hear them from here. "I'm no ordinary Palace guard, Barzan." Her answer made him frown momentarily, but she saw a hint of recognition in his eyes.
Immediately turning to leave the cell, she pushed the heavy door closed after Kazan exited, and he locked it behind them. Izara blinked slowly a few times and took a couple of deep breaths. Their discussion was about an hour long and had been taxing since she was still feverish and weakened. Now was no time to rest, though. She needed to tell General Iroh everything she had learned.
"Go and get some rest. I'll report in." She held her hand out, and Kazan placed the notes he had taken into them with a nod. "Thank you, my friend."
Turning on the ball of her foot, she marched towards the prison's entrance. Kazan called after her to get some rest after she gave her report. She responded with a 'Yeah, yeah' as she kept walking, but she appreciated his worry. Taking the stairs two at a time since the development had given her a boost of energy, she made her way to the Fire Lord's office without delay and found Wen waiting out front in her usual spot.
Wen stood bolt upright, her brow furrowed together in concern at her quick approach. She smiled to say everything was okay, and there was no cause for alarm, and the gesture made her relax a little.
"Go right in," Wen said, and Izara nodded her thanks.
"General Iroh." Izara got his attention and bowed low after walking in the office door.
"Are you alright?" He asked, and she was pleased that he prioritised her health over the information she had gleaned.
She nodded, began to tell him everything she had learned, and gave him Kazan's notes from their discussion. They reviewed the notes together for some time and agreed that they would proceed with punishment for Barzan when Zuko returned home.
###
"I enquired with some of my friends to see if they had heard anything about the Supremacists making a move on the Capital, and no one had anything for me. I'd say it was kept very close to the chest. Izara did a good job finding out everything she could." Iroh added.
Zuko sat back in his chair and sighed slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose. This was a lot to take in, and he knew that they would need to prepare for the possibility of an attack on the Capitan from the Supremacists. Iroh had already doubled the guard in the Capital and the Palace, erring on the side of caution. He had also dispatched some agents to blend into the city and keep an eye out for any scouts sent to replace Barzan. It was improbable the Supremacists wouldn't send another one since they'd lost their asset with Barzan's capture.
"Thank you for handling this in my stead. I'm so grateful to have you here, Uncle." He said with a smile, but it was strained due to his concern about the situation.
"It's not me you should thank." Iroh smiled at her, which Izara returned.
Zuko smiled at them, pleased they had gotten along so well during his absence. There were a multitude of reasons why this made him happy, but for now, he needed to focus on the issue at hand. Thus, his smile fell a moment later, replaced by a frown. It was too late in the day for them to do anything about it now, but he would call a council meeting tomorrow to discuss what to do and update them about what had happened while he was away.
"I'll discuss it with the council first thing tomorrow. For now, I need to sleep." With a low groan, he got up from his chair.
"I'll return to the shop," Iroh said as he got up.
"Izara, would you come with me for a minute?" Zuko asked, seeing that she was still on edge.
They left the sitting room, and Iroh went his separate way while Izara and Zuko headed towards his chambers. She walked a few paces behind him as she did when on guard, but he stopped moving and turned to look at her. As expected, she stopped, too, and waited for him to continue moving with her eyes lowered.
"Izara." He began but just couldn't figure out how to express himself.
Where did he start? Should he first thank her for protecting his uncle, the Capital, and the Fire Nation? While he was grateful for that, he was primarily concerned that she had put herself at risk without hesitation. Although he wanted to scold her again, it wouldn't change anything, and he didn't want to be angry with her. With Katara here, he knew she would be in good hands and be healed by now from the damage the poison had caused her. He sighed heavily once more but kept walking, knowing she was following even though he couldn't hear her footsteps.
His chambers were only a short way down the hall, and when he opened the door, he found everything perfectly clean and tidy. Izara stood awkwardly in the doorway, looking unsure if she should enter. He gestured for her to come in and flopped down on his couch. She stood beside the couch, still not looking at him, and Zuko sighed once more.
That got her attention, snapping her head towards him with a concerned expression. By her appearance, she seemed to be okay. He couldn't see any of the reddish-purple splotches she had described from the poison, and her complexion looked perfectly normal. This did make him feel a little better, but he was still concerned about the long-term effects of the poison. With Katara here, she would have been in the best hands for getting medical attention and healing. For another minute or so, he just studied her and realised how much he had missed her presence while he was away, despite it only being a short time.
Not thinking his next move through, he tugged her hand and pulled her into his arms. He hugged her tightly and breathed in her scent, allowing it to calm him and reassure him that she was alright. She stiffened in surprise but relaxed a moment later, and he could feel the tension leave her as she returned his embrace, albeit a little awkwardly.
"Please don't do that again." He said in a hushed voice.
"I'm alright. I promise." She replied earnestly, and he could feel her chest rise and fall with her breathing.
"I know, but I don't want you putting yourself at risk like that." Zuko hoped that his emphatic tone would get his point across.
Her response was a nod that he felt against his chest, but she didn't look at him. He held her for another few seconds, but he forced himself to let her go so she didn't feel uncomfortable. He would have happily held her for hours, though, if he could. She stepped away from him and gave him a bow.
"Get some rest." Her voice was carefully emotionless, and Zuko frowned, but she didn't see it with her eyes lowered.
Leaving him alone in his chambers, Zuko stared at the pack he'd abandoned earlier and scowled. He was far too exhausted to deal with it now, so he ignored it and went straight to the bathroom to get cleaned up before he went to bed. Getting in the bath, he allowed the hot water to soothe his tired muscles and closed his eyes to relax a little more. Eventually, he was beginning to nod off to sleep, so he dragged himself out of the tub, dried himself off and put on a clean pair of shorts.
Practically falling into bed, he took a few deep breaths before sleep took him...