It took six months of training before the 11th Regiment was ready to be deployed once more. By now unofficially known as Azula’s Lancers (the War Ministry was still dallying about with approving that, annoyingly), they left for the colonies with relatively little fanfare. That Azula would be joining them ensured that a sizable crowd was gathered at least, and Zuzu seeing them off also added to the royal court’s presence.
By now, Zuko had improved himself to earn some of Azula’s respect. Xing’s training and lessons had forged her brother to something more princely. Zuko stood straighter and deliberated over things more decisively, but it came at the cost of being less gullible to his sister’s needling and attempts at manipulation.
Perhaps Xing was too competent as a mentor.
Still, Azula had to admit that their joint training under the colonel had renewed some sort of sibling bond between them. Zuko still had his soft spots, especially over sacrificing lives, but at least she could understand where he might be coming from thanks to Xing’s insights. After all, what’s the point of being a ruler if you had no one to rule over, right?
It was disappointing that their father did not seem too interested in the idea of human resource though. “The boy’s ideas might hold some merit, but that does not mean it should replace our tried and tested plans. We are at war. You should know we cannot afford to coddle naive ideas.”
The Fire Lord had been firm in his stance, but Azula couldn’t shake off the niggling doubt that her father might actually be wrong for once.
Regardless of that minor…disagreement, her father seemed impressed enough with Xing that the boy was personally summoned to court to receive the 11th Regiment’s new orders. Azula remembered smiling as she watched the stern boy march out in the armor he had designed. It was a shame that helmets were not allowed to be worn in court; she thought it completed the look rather well. It also hid the very subtle annoyance he betrayed at having to be called out here.
Really, the boy’s aversion to politics was probably his biggest weakness. A good thing he more than made up for it with other qualities.
The 11th Regiment was ordered to aid in the subjugation of Chenbao, the northernmost Earth Kingdom state. This was supposed to be a chance for the colonel and his regiment to prove himself. Considering she would only be with them for two months, Azula highly doubted she’d see how well they would fare there.
But their route would take them across unruly towns and villages, and there was already a large Earth Kingdom army marauding dangerously close to some colonies, so she should still have the chance to see Xing and the 11th shine. Just to be sure, Azula made it an order for her regiment to hunt down that army first. A rather useful perk of being a royal patron.
In the meantime, the girl made use of the boring seaborne journey by training with the soldiers, and getting acquainted with tactics and battle jargon that Xing and his officers only now deemed suitable to teach.
“Can’t have lazy nobles picking up all this and claiming it as their idea when we pull it off successfully,” Ping bluntly said, and Azula had to agree. After the disgraceful display of Duke Cho and the lack of support from the capital in general, it was understandable that the 11th Regiment fostered some distrust. In fact, as princess, she heartily approved of it.
The less of Xing’s ideas that anyone else dared steal, the more credible his victories, and - more to the point - the more the princess would be vindicated in her decision to support the regiment. She did not care to waste time putting patronizing and sniveling nobles in their place.
Of course, the new information also brought up new questions. “Do those words even have a meaning?” she asked with a mildly perplexed frown. “I mean, I can imagine how you came up with ‘Firaga’, but… What is a ‘Spartan’, or a ‘sonne’?”
“Just nonsense words I strung together,” XIng, rather frustratingly, answered casually. It seemed that as soon as they left the capital, the colonel loosened up significantly. He was more willing to grin and trade dry jokes as they embarked and weighed anchor. By the time the city was a sinking speck in the horizon, Xing was noticeably far less stiff than he used to be.
Ren and the others gave a shrug when Azula sought them out without his presence later that day. “The colonel’s been doing that for a while now. Colonel Lidai thought it’s because he hears the spirits from when we rescued him.”
Azula arched an eyebrow up in doubt. “Is that so.” But now that the captain mentioned it…
“How did you find Xing? All we heard from the capital was that Lidai rescued and adopted him.”
The officers and overhearing soldiers became annoyingly somber at that, shoulders drooping and frowns blooming. “We were chasing some Earth Kingdom marauders,” Kai said softly, after looking over his shoulder to be sure that Xing was still busy with Mozi. “We were down to just a day behind them when we reached Falung Town.”
“We saw the smoke long before we saw the town itself,” Rufen muttered, shaking his head. “Colonel Lidai force-marched us, but the marauders were well done with the place by the time we got there.”
Azula kept silent as the soldiers took on a faraway look. Captain Ren was flexing her fingers, while Lieutenant Kaeson blinked rapidly.
It took seconds of patient waiting before Rufen continued. “The place was sacked and all but razed. The town wall was buried under mounds of dirt, the guards we managed to find were pinned to walls by earth spikes or crushed to paste under boulders. The colonists were butchered on the streets as they tried to flee.”
The captain’s voice faltered, and it surprised the princess that the cheerily violent men and women around here were being overcome with emotion. She could see their eyes glisten.
“Some of the bodies we recovered…some were so crushed we couldn’t recognize if they were men or women, boys or girls…”
Some heads were shaking, others were simply staring off into space with their arms trembling.
“And then Ren-”
“I heard a noise,” the captain interrupted, her voice a choked whisper. “Under a buried house. Collapsed under earthbender dirt and rock.” Azula visibly reeled back as the usually cheery captain stared at her with teary eyes. It was cold and hollow, like gazing down an empty well. “I had everyone digging. Sent word to the colonel, a-and he got everyone else to help.”
Captain Ren sniffed and flicked away the tears with a curled finger before shaking her head and drawing in a deep breath. “W-We found Xing quickly, just a few feet away from the crushed door. A woman - his mother we think - was curled up above him. Protected him from everything collapsing on top of them. Barely recognizable if not for her robes. Sleeping robes… Spirits… He was still alive, somehow, but…but he was so…so weak. So dirty…”
Kai took over the story as he draped a comforting arm around his colleague. “We had to be careful; he had so many bones broken. Like…like a stuffed doll. None of us thought he’d make it. Colonel Lidai asked us to bring him along. Make sure his last moments were with people who could comfort him.”
After a slow exhale, Kai’s gaze, and those of many around him, hardened with hate. “We cremated those bodies we could recover, then hunted the partisans down. By the ti-”
“What conspiracy is going on over there?” Xing’s rather cheery voice suddenly came from behind the group, interrupting the tale. Immediately the officers and the enlisted straightened to attention, wiping away wet eyes before they turned to face their colonel.
“Nothing, colonel,” Ping quickly answered with a betraying sniff. “Just…talking.”
Still digesting the information, Azula only blinked several times at Xing, taking a while before she found and wore her royal composure. “I…”
Xing, sharp as he was, noted the lingering emotions on his men and women, and it seemed to infect him as well. “I…see.” He gave a curt nod, and then turned to leave the deck. “Meeting in my office…whenever you’re all ready.”
As they collected themselves and made to follow after him, Azula was struck by a sudden spike of envy. The raw emotions these professional killers had shown, the unabashed love they displayed when talking about Xing…
Hardened warriors, utter strangers, yet somehow when they found Xing…
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The images of her forever concerned mother, her distant father, even Uncle Iroh, all flashed through the princess’ head. She compared them to these soldiers, and the spike grew barbs and twisted in Azula’s guts.
She quickly quashed down the emotion, forcing a stoic expression that could rival the colonel’s before she followed along the officers. Azula was conscious of how she placed one foot in front of another. It would be unseemly if she stomped or stumbled across the deck.
And it helped distract her from the ugly feeling welling up inside her.
*****
Perhaps it was a mistake to reveal that much about Xing. Kai noted the princess becoming rather tense as she attended the briefing. Her gaze hardened every now and then for some reason.
Maybe Princess Azula’s bond with Xing had grown close enough that she was trying to come to terms with his tragedy? Or was it just the case of a privileged royal trying to wrap her head around the brutality of Earth Kingdom reprisals?
Regardless, over the next few days, the princess’ interactions with everyone - Xing in particular - was a bit more distant, aloof. Of course, Xing noticed it, but tackled it in a convoluted manner..
It had been four days since they left the capital when Xing announced a competition of prowess and talent. It was a chance to show off and potentially win half a colonel’s pay. Anyone could participate, showing off anything they thought worthwhile, and everyone aboard would be the judge. Captain Luo happily agreed to include the crew of his ship in the competition.
Sergeant Han of Araka Village drew the shortest straw and went first. The small man opened the competition by whistling a folk song - Dragon by the River, if Kai remembered rightly - in one breath. Chorus, additional verses, and all. Soldiers and sailors alike applauded at the admirable attempt, with some egging one another to replicate the feat.
Then Rufen was up, and he just pulled out an old but reliable party trick. The captain juggled daggers and swords, and then rolled over into a headstand without breaking the juggling. He would’ve finished by throwing the blades one after another into the same spot on the ground, but the ship was rocked by a large enough wave that almost lost him a few toes. Laughs of commiseration and mocking rang out as the shaken captain grumbled his way out into the crowd.
Princess Azula was initially hesitant, keeping her haughty mask as the event began. But Kai noticed her loosening up right as a sailor did a surprisingly clean rendition of the play ‘Butterfly’s Lament’. It was weird seeing a weathered man doing a firebending dance meant for a noble maiden, but the precise jets of flames paired with an unusually smooth and delicate choreography was quite impressive. The sailor bowed to thunderous applause, and gave a grateful salute to a smirking and amused princess who joined along with a bit more royal restraint.
More performances continued throughout the day, some familiar, some truly novel. Many were decent, a few were impressive failures, and fewer still were actually noteworthy. Ren did her usual handstand-into-dagger-throws with her toes, Mozi got persuaded by his girlfriend to show off his singing voice, and even Captain Luo put up a spectacular masked opera show, using hastily painted rags.
As the sun went down, the contestants were about to be judged. Until Xing drew everyone’s attention by directing a question to Princess Azula’s way. “Princess, would you forgive me my rudeness of inquiring if you’d wish to show us how outclassed we are?”
“Dammit Xing…” Kai and some others groaned at Xing’s utter lack of finesse. Captain Luo’s jaw dropped so fast that it could’ve dislocated.
Thankfully, the princess seemed only curious at the young colonel’s blunt question. She regarded him for a moment before nodding and rising up from her cushioned seat. The sailors’ and troops’ cheer drowned out the sighs of relief.
Kai watched as the young royal walked into the center of the performance ring, with very little in her posture betraying her nerves. She stopped right at the center, fixing Xing a stare. “I’ll need a volunteer,” she said, making it clear who was being volunteered.
Soon, Xing was standing with wooden plates held up in each hand before the princess who wielded a pair of naval cutlasses. The space behind him was cleared. A sense of trepidation rose in Kai as he noticed the princess’ grin, and it didn’t help that her bodyguard retinue were looking rather nervous.
Princess Azula visibly drew in a breath before she lashed out without further warning. Gasps echoed off the metal deck as the princess spun in place while she slashed and stabbed the blades at Xing with supreme confidence. It looked like a ceremonial wardance sans the firebending. A dull crack sounded from each strike, and small chips of wood could be seen flying in the air.
Xing stood utterly still as the blades slashed across or swept diagonally right in front of his face. His eyes remained open, locked with the princess’ own grinning gaze.
The flurry of cutlass strikes ended in just under fifteen seconds, and Princess Azula finished it off by leaping back in a somersault and punching out with both fists before she landed. Twin jets of flame blasted at the scarred and chipped plates, breaking it apart.
As the princess rose, Kai and the other awed spectators looked to what was left in Xing’s hands; the smoldering characters of ‘fire’ in his right hand, and ‘nation’ in his left. The words were carved so neatly that Kai could easily see himself mistaking it as a decent signmaker’s work at first glance. The colonel himself was unaffected, save for maybe a bit of a heat flush on his face.
Silence settled for just a second, long enough for the princess to start to glance at everyone around her. Then the collective cheers startled her a bit (she’d probably deny it, no doubt), with Kai roaring along with everyone else at the display. Princess Azula looked a bit confused for a moment, but then settled into basking in the moment with a rather satisfied smile.
Xing had to take a few seconds to calm everyone down before he stated the obvious. “So, is it safe to say that her highness Princess Azula wins this competition?” Another round of cheers went up.
The princess looked suitably flattered, and as Xing offered her the pouch of coins, she made a good show of having it distributed to the runner ups instead. More cheers rose up, and someone began chanting her name. It was a chant soon picked up by pretty much the whole ship.
“I’m surprised you kept still,” Kai heard the princess say as she passed him with Xing in tow. “The real trick was supposed to be me making the carving before the plates dropped.”
“I apologize for not playing along,” Xing said with a ghost of a grin. “But when a princess tells me to stay still, I stay still.”
The princess snorted. “A shame none of my tutors have ever gotten that in their head.”
Xing gave a short chuckle. “I can imagine having to deal with untested ‘masters’ might be…taxing.”
Kai and the others did their level best to blend into the background as the princess turned around to give Xing a look. “Ugh, if only they were only merely ‘taxing’.”
“Well, I’m glad your spirits seem to have lifted, princess.”
Oh for fuck’s sake, Xing.
There was a light clapping of palms against faces, though thankfully it didn’t distract both teens. Captain Luo looked like he wanted to replace his face with Xing’s, and Kai didn’t begrudge him that.
“I… Thank you, Xing,” the princess replied, and everyone else did their best to not notice the weird air hanging around like a localized mist.
After a few seconds of silence, Princess Azula retired to her quarters, followed by a massive collective sigh that threatened to be heard above the cheering as the anticipation deflated.
Xing turned just in time for Captain Luo to bear down on him with all the disappointment of a seasoned tavern hopper. “Young man, being young does not mean you have to be so…so dense.”
“Welcome to our world, captain,” Ren said wryly as she joined the fray. Kai and Rufen just chuckled in agreement, while Ping was still rubbing her forehead. Mozi was being consoled by a giggling Li Ming.
“What…?” Xing asked obliviously, staring at the adults surrounding him.