The boy froze mid-step.
And that was true, wasn't it? Why would the Herald refuse such advantages? And the information about the Avatar… what about his companions? Had he simply chosen not to mention them?
Suspicious that some trick was involved, the young prince shook himself and glanced once more down the corridor leading back toward the sitting room.
"Hmmm…" The corridor looked perfectly ordinary… if one ignored the five girls with painted faces who were attempting to pass themselves off as servants. Dusting, sweeping, and pretending to busy themselves with various chores — yet the act looked so painfully unnatural and unconvincing that only a complete idiot could possibly believe it.
Sensing something was off, the prince continued onward, acutely aware of the watchful eyes following him.
After leaving the residence, Zuko went for a "walk" around the island, continuing to notice the surveillance trailing him. Chan, it seemed, was only marginally better than Zhao — simply a little smarter.
Though what bothered him was how clumsy the surveillance was.
No, the observer wasn't a complete amateur, but neither were they anywhere near professional level. Zuko entered the inner courtyard of some sort of training complex.
"You know… spying on me is a very bad idea!" A stream of fire shot toward the vague silhouette attempting to melt into the shadows… only to shatter against a slab of rock raised in front of it.
An earthbender!
An assassin?
More torrents of flame hurtled toward the enemy.
"Ahhh… no, wait, Your Highness!" The nimble figure darted between the spears of fire, occasionally raising new stone walls whenever dodging proved impossible.
"Who sent you, assassin? Give me the name of the one who hired you!" Another combination of sweeping fireblasts engulfed the target, but the figure managed to dive into the earth itself and burst out elsewhere a moment later.
"I'm not an assassin! I'm the Fire Nation ambassador on Kyoshi Island!" The opponent had drawn closer now, and the prince could finally see that he was fighting a young girl. And now that distance and the roar of flames no longer distorted it, the voice was unmistakably female.
That changed absolutely nothing.
"Fire Nation ambassador? An earthbender? If you can't lie, don't even try! Or at least come up with a more believable story!"
With a certain amount of satisfaction, the prince threw the very same phrase at the "assassin" that he himself had heard from Commodore Chan only a short while earlier.
"I'm not lying! I really am an ambassador!" she protested indignantly. "My mom's an earthbender, and my dad's the governor of Yu Dao!"
The prince hesitated. Honestly, if someone had wanted to lie to him, they probably would have come up with a version that sounded less ridiculous. An earthbender serving the Fire Nation? What in the world had gone wrong here?
"And what exactly do you want here, Ambassador? Why were you following me?" The royal heir relaxed slightly, though he still did not let the girl out of his sight.
"Well… I… sort of… um… well…" And this disaster of a girl awkwardly shuffled her foot.
Zuko braced himself to dodge a flying chunk of rock, but nothing came hurtling toward him. The girl truly had just shuffled her foot… and now she lowered her head and began nervously twisting the hem of her outfit in her fingers. The tips of her ears were glowing bright red even in the deepening dusk.
The boy became thoroughly confused.
"I'm waiting!" he pressed.
"You'rearealFireNationprinceandI'dneverseenaprincebeforeandIgotcurious!" the girl blurted out in one breath.
Zuko's eye twitched nervously. Suddenly, those "maids" back at the embassy residence made a lot more sense. But… that realization brought with it a very complicated mix of feelings. (That had been happening to him more often over the last day than in the previous two years.)
On the one hand, the attention was flattering — no point denying it. During his forced wanderings, he had long since grown unaccustomed to that sort of reverence, and the interest of a pretty girl was undeniably pleasant. On the other hand, being treated like some strange exotic animal in a zoo irritated him immensely.
All right. Uncle was always talking about self-control. Might as well try showing some…
"What's your name, anyway, Ambassador?"
"Kori, Your Highness," the girl gave a traditional bow.
"Well then, Kori… tell me how you ended up so far away from Yu Dao…"
***
Commodore Chan. Dusk.
"Master Iroh, I have a favor to ask of you." I figured the time had come. The client was relaxed, content, and fully ripe.
"Yes, yes? I'm listening."
"Though it's not customary within our Order, I ask that you teach me the fundamentals of firebending. Teach me to breathe!"
Mentally, I crossed my fingers. If the old man refused, I honestly had no idea what to do next. Other than perhaps writing a tearful dispatch to Lord Ozai explaining that his Herald was getting pecked apart by chickens, had grown utterly feeble and sickly, and couldn't survive without bending at all — but that was an absolute last resort.
"Of course, I'll explain," the old man smiled kindly. "It isn't difficult."
…What? Just like that? I had no words.
"A man who serves me White Dragon tea and seeks new knowledge is certainly worthy of receiving it."
Ahh, so the secret was the tea… Spirits bless Morishita's collection and General Iroh's love for the stuff!
"Come."
(End of Chapter)
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