Year 99 after the Air Nomad Genocide.
Princess Azula, her figure illuminated solely by moonlight, had been sitting silently in a chair for several minutes, staring into a mirror. Her trio of handmaidens should have helped her change and prepare for bed long ago, but they couldn't move. They were afraid. They feared Princess Azula to the point of trembling knees. They even tried to breathe as quietly as possible, pressed against one of the walls as if wishing to merge with it, to become as inconspicuous to her as possible.
Princess Azula had arrived only moments ago. There was absolutely no emotion on her face. Her gaze was thoughtful. Of course, that wasn't what terrified the servants. They had lived in the palace for some time now and had come to understand a little about Firebending. For example, if a Firebender is very angry, the nearest source of flame will suddenly grow larger. When the Princess entered her own room, all the candles placed in it instantly burned out. Their flames seemed to have reached the ceiling itself.
Azula was angry. Very angry.
For the first time in several minutes, the Princess made a movement noticeable to the human eye: she exhaled heavily. The servants flinched. She slowly rose from the chair, stood behind its back, and placed her hands on it. The next moment, the chair flew into a table standing in the corner, and the furniture shattered into pieces. One of the handmaidens let out a quiet squeak of fear, but Azula paid her no attention at all.
"Even he…" the Princess spoke with a low growl, finally changing her expression.
If the handmaidens had seen their Princess's face now, they would have been surprised to find not rage or anger, but hurt and a lone tear, which Azula immediately wiped away so no one would see this display of her weakness.
"Even he…" the Princess repeated again. Her voice was trembling. But again, not from anger. It was all due to barely contained hysteria.
Not long ago, Fire Lord Ozai, Princess Azula's father, had summoned her to the throne room to discuss an important matter. The Princess, having learned that her father wished to speak with her, was kneeling before him within minutes. Ozai began his tale from afar. While the front in the Earth Kingdom had stagnated, the Fire Lord decided to strike the Water Tribes and completely subdue them. Ozai shared the secret with his daughter of how to break the Waterbenders, to deprive them of their ability to use bending. This flattered Azula. She thought her father had entrusted her with a vital secret and supposed she might be the one honored to kill the spirits of the Northern Water Tribe. But Fire Lord Ozai very soon showed that he had invited her for an entirely different reason…
Ozai needed an army. He could not strip the Fire Nation bare, leaving it unprotected by sending local units to fight the Northern Water Tribe. Nor could Ozai stop the slow-moving skirmishes in the Earth Kingdom. The enemy could take advantage of that and recapture the territories previously seized with difficulty.
In short, withdrawing soldiers from the active war zone seemed impossible. Azula understood all this perfectly, so she was curious where Ozai would get a full-fledged army capable of conquering the Northern Water Tribe.
Ozai stated that he wished to mobilize soldiers from the territories of the Fire Nation's colonies. This had never been done before. Even in the most desperate times, such an option was not considered. No Fire Nation leader trusted the colonists enough to use them as a mobilization resource for the army. Only recently, these colonies had been loyal to the Earth Kingdom. Giving weapons to those you had recently subjugated was definitely a bad idea. There was a considerable chance that those weapons would be turned against you. Only Firebenders born in the colonies were granted the right to serve in the army during the reign of Fire Lord Azulon. And even they were secretly monitored at first.
Before mobilizing soldiers from the colonial territories, the Fire Lord needed to secure their loyalty. Ozai decided to lift the colonial status from the long-conquered lands of the Earth Kingdom. Now, they were to be Coastal Enclaves—a full-fledged part of the Fire Nation with all the ensuing rights and responsibilities.
Not all seized territories were granted this honor, only the oldest ones where subservience to the Fire Nation was already commonplace. But even so, the people in the Enclave territory, who had suddenly become full citizens of the Fire Nation, were numerous enough to assemble a full army that could successfully storm the Northern Water Tribe.
The reduction of tax collection, the recognition of people from the former colonies as full citizens of the Fire Nation, and the equalization of their rights with the inhabitants of the archipelago, the original territory of the Fire Nation, was an excellent idea for gaining loyalty.
But, in Azula's opinion, that loyalty would still not be strong enough to prevent the forced mobilization from being met with resistance. He needed to gain the favor of the newly formed Enclave in some other way. To make the people feel they were truly a single state with one goal. To strengthen the connection between the Fire Nation Capital and the Enclave territories.
The thought occurred to Azula that the Fire Lord would make her the chief governor of the Enclave. Give her the task of turning the former colonists into loyal Fire Nation citizens. Azula was wrong. Ozai's thoughts flowed in a different direction. He did want to use his daughter to establish relations with the colonies, but in another way.
"On your eighteenth birthday, you will marry one of the Enclave Governors," Ozai's words continued to thunder in Princess Azula's head even now, as she stood in her room.
Azula had received the finest education since an early age. She was taught both publicly available sciences and knowledge known only to a few in the world. Every day, the Princess underwent serious training for physical development. Every day, the Princess honed her Firebending skills. Aside from the Fire Lord, no bender in the palace had been stronger than her for a couple of years.
Azula, as she saw it, was the nearly perfect Princess of her Nation. She knew much, could do much, and when necessary, applied her skills brilliantly. Azula presented herself capably at social functions and meetings of the Fire Nation's high command. Fire Lord Ozai himself had repeatedly said he was proud of her.
But all that… All those years of her effort… Would they simply be discarded? Would she be disowned just like Zuko was a few years ago after making a serious mistake at a war meeting? But she hadn't made any mistakes! Princess Azula tried to please her father in every way possible. She saw him as a reliable foundation. A man she admired. But after the words spoken in the throne room, he unexpectedly became the one who would destroy the very ground Azula stood on.
The Princess understood that sooner or later, she would have to marry. But she believed that, like many other relatives, she would choose her partner herself and remain privy to the Fire Lord's palace. She would live in the Capital and help her father govern the country.
Azula did not believe she would have any say in the life of her nation after marrying a Governor. She would become an exotic exhibit who would smile and nod when commanded. A bargaining chip intended to normalize relations between the Fire Nation and the former colonies. After the wedding, she would lose everything… Azula had no doubt of that outcome. The Fire Lord didn't need another branch of the royal family with a claim to the throne.
In her mind, she could already hear the title the people would give her. The former Princess of the Fire Nation. Or perhaps even less. She would simply be called the Governor's wife. A Governor whose lands the Capital would still consider a colony, and whose subjects they would deem upstarts. This could be understood by the Fire Lord himself. He uttered the word Enclave with incredible contempt, as if spitting it out, every time.
Many things happened for the first time that day. Azula, for the first time, doubted her father. For the first time, the Princess spoke out against the Fire Lord. In the end, she raised her voice to him for the first time and almost attacked him with her bending for the first time. She managed to stop at the very last moment. To restrain herself. But Ozai, it seemed, managed to notice the characteristic movements of a Firebender initiating an attack…
The Fire Lord decided to put his nearly rebellious daughter in her place. He gave her an assignment that she had to set out on tomorrow, at dawn. The Princess was even granted the right to choose which of her father's errands to carry out. She had to find either the Avatar or the library of the great Spirit of Knowledge, Wan Shi Tong. The Fire Lord gave her exactly one year to complete one of her assignments. And he was so merciful that he mockingly said he wouldn't be too upset if Azula failed.
The Princess Azula perfectly understood her father's hint. Either she needed to rein in her temper, or the assignment would become just as open-ended as the one bestowed upon her older brother. Or Azula would be exiled from the royal family altogether. That, too, was possible.
Princess Azula, recalling the conversation with her father, suddenly realized he had made a mistake. If she truly managed to find the Spirit of Knowledge's library, she would prove that she could be much more useful by her father's side than as a Governor's wife. A sinister laugh made the handmaidens flinch.
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I found myself back in the Capital and now knelt before the Fire Lord. My expression was unemotional, slightly focused. I had, after all, been granted an audience with the Fire Lord…
No one suspected that a serious danger threatened Ozai. It threatened him from me. Ozai's situation was similar to Zhao's. The Fire Lord, just like Captain Zhao, failed to give me what I craved: advanced Bending knowledge.
Over several years, I had uncovered the malfeasance of many members of the Fire Nation Army's high command. Most often, I sent Ozai evidence of the theft of funds that should have gone, for example, as salary bonuses for the rank-and-file, awards for distinguished fighters, or simply money for improving the soldiers' living conditions and food. Less often, I reported on conspiracies against the Fire Lord and plans for his overthrow. After such letters, I often received orders to eliminate the rebels. Preferably, by framing everything as an accident.
For my conscientious service, I received nothing but the rank of Lieutenant. Every time I had the opportunity to visit the Capital, Ozai informed me that he would soon reward me appropriately, but I received nothing. Only empty promises that he was in no hurry to fulfill. I tolerated this for several years; time means nothing to me, but patience has a tendency to run out…
"You have served me well, Long. I am promoting you to Captain in the Fire Nation Army. Accept my congratulations."
"Thank you, Fire Lord!" I replied, without raising my head. If I had, he would definitely have seen my face twisted with anger, and I hadn't decided yet whether to kill him or not. I needed to meditate more… "But won't the rank of Captain complicate my duties in identifying internal enemies of the Fire Nation?"
Rank-and-file soldiers and Lieutenants can quietly transfer from unit to unit. The transfer of someone like a Captain would definitely interest the officer corps. Soon, they would compare notes and realize that some time after my transfer, the officer corps in those units is either voluntarily or forcibly replaced, or tragically dies. The incognito of the secret auditor and part-time liquidator would be exposed. Incidentally, in the last year, I noticed that Ozai has quite a few agents like me. I simply heard about the tragic deaths of several officers and even one Admiral.
"No, it won't complicate things. You have worked hard for your nation, Long, and after this assignment, you will be duly rewarded by me." I had already begun to quietly look around, trying to figure out if the guards could prevent me from strangling Ozai, when he announced my next objective. "I entrust you with the surveillance and protection of Princess Azula…"
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