“Congratulations, Colonel Mozi.”
With those damning words, Mozi’s fate was sealed. He managed a stiff nod as he rose from his kneeling position, barely aware that he gave out a rather sloppy salute to the smirking princess before him.
This unwanted promotion was inevitable as Xing became Prince Xing. It was, from what Mozi understood, a compromise to both reflect on his new rank, as well as appease the War Council. Xing would relinquish control of the 11th, as a prince engaged to the crown princess should not be a mere colonel, but he would also refrain from seeking the rank of general for the time out of consideration for his age.
Mozi and everyone else in the regiment knew that the loss of official title meant nothing at all; Xing would continue to lead the 11th, only from the shadows this time, as he used to do. If he didn’t, Mozi would have to consider how best to beg the princess for Xing to reassume control. Nobody wanted to steer the regiment without Xing at least providing some whispered guidance, Mozi included.
In the same manner, Koshi and his team would continue to guard the young prince while Mozi sought his own bodyguards. They would be officially transferred from the regiment, but some minor accounting-bending would see that they would remain listed under the regiment’s roster to ensure that they got their pensions when the time came.
“I…thank you for the…the honor, your highness.”
The good-natured chuckles around him felt like stabs of treacherous daggers.
Xing was chuckling along, and walked over from Azula’s side to pat Mozi on the back. “Look on the bright side, you don’t have to meet the civilians anymore. You can delegate now.”
It was some comfort, for sure, a great one even. But still…
Mozi sighed. “The marriage proposals will get worse now, and I haven’t told my parents about Li Ming yet…”
Xing had the decency to appear somewhat sympathetic to his plight at least. “That’s partially on you, and you know it. You should’ve just sent the news back home when you surrendered to Li Ming.”
Mozi’s eyes went wide with fear just thinking about the consequences of that. The sheer scandal of being the first of his family to officially wed a lowborn commoner, and a ‘sullied’ Earth Kingdom peasant at that… He might not get the chance to be disowned, simply because his strict, uncompromising parents could very well die on the spot from hearing such news.
He’d hoped to wait until he and his lover could settle down to have kids, on the chance that presenting a grandchild would significantly soften the blow. That, or figure out a way to fake his death while he hid away in the colonies with Li Ming.
The other option was to take her in as a concubine, but that was beyond an acceptable choice for Mozi, even if Li Ming was fine with that.
“You know,” Kai said in a teasing tone to the side, “for a dutiful and reliable officer, it’s weird to see you so…torn over this.”
It was true, but it still hurt to hear it. Stuck campaigning most of the time, Mozi had allowed himself to vacillate between love and family obligations. For years already, fear of his parents’ esteem stalemated evenly with his devotion to Li Ming, with neither side overcoming the other.
What didn’t help matters was that Li Ming was perfectly understanding and appreciated his predicament. Even now, she only smiled at the ribbing sent Mozi’s way, and still defended his virtues as Ren and Ping had their arms around Li Ming’s shoulder and lamenting on her behalf at her partner’s lack of commitment.
Spirits, even the princess and her friend were shaking their heads as it went on.
Eventually though, Xing tossed him a surprising lifeline. “Well, if your parents are only in it for the prestige… How’d they feel if you were marrying a noble?” He held up a hand to stop Mozi’s protest, and turned to the princess. “As a prince, can I hand out titles?”
His fiance frowned for a moment, and the whole room went silent with anticipation at the idea.
“It’s…possible. But the title will carry little weight in the home islands, especially since my father did not officially bestow it.”
“Well, some weight is better than no weight. Hm… But as the crown princess’ soon-to-be consort, it’d still be something?”
Despite her face coloring a little, Azula didn’t break from the serious consideration, nodding to the question. “If you word it right.”
Xing immediately spun towards Li Ming. “Works for me. Li Ming? Kneel, please.”
“Huh? Wha-?‘ Stunned by the sudden intense attention, Li Ming looked lost as she slowly got down to her knees.
“A formal salute, please, Li Ming.”
She did so, bowing slightly and bringing up her hands palm over fist before her lowered head.
Just to the side, the crown princess and her friend looked on with amusement, but everyone else seemed to be taking the scene with just as much seriousness as Mozi. “So… Ah. Li Ming, for your generous and unconditional aid and support of the 11th Royal Regiment through its highs and lows, for your unswerving loyalty to the Fire Nation… I, Prince Xing of Ba Sing Se, hereby bestow upon you the title of…Lady of the Western Upper Ring. As befitting of your rank, you will be awarded a compound close to the Royal Palace.”
Li Ming’s eyes went wide, shooting a glance to Mozi for help at the sudden gravity of the situation. “Uh…um, thank you, my…prince?”
Xing gave a nod, and then turned to his fiance. “How’s that?”
“Hm. Too short. The emphasis on the 11th being a royal regiment was good, but you should’ve provided solid examples of her feats.”
Beside her, Ty Lee raised a finger to add her own two copper pieces. “You could also elaborate on the responsibilities that come with the elevation.”
“Hm, good points…” Xing hummed for a moment before looking to the other officers. “Anything else to make this more official?”
Some ideas were brought up, and the new prince then turned his attention back to a petrified Li Ming. “So, round two?” She went pale, and Mozi had to quickly swoop in to stop her from fainting.
It was decided to just get a scribe to record the amended formality on paper. There were enough witnesses, plus royal presence, to make it count.
“So now, you can say you’re marrying above your station, Mozi,” Xing offered with a smile. It almost lifted Mozi’s mood too, if not for his comrades’ following words.
“Since Li Ming’s a higher rank, does it mean you have to bring your family over to pay their respects?”
This time it was Li Ming who had to hold onto her partner before he fainted over.
*****
After the officers of the 11th were dismissed (and Kai and Rufen dragged their new colonel away), Azula stood with Xing just in front of the throne. Neither of them would sit on it, they decided. It was better to symbolically acknowledge the Earth King’s seat being tainted by the king’s involvement (or lack thereof) with Lake Laogai.
Until new thrones were commissioned, neither Xing nor Azula would be found sitting in the throne room.
“So, what’s next on the agenda?” she asked.
“Where is your uncle?”
Azula sighed with some embarrassment. “Still locked up in the royal pantry, picking through the tea leaves. At the rate he’s going, it might be prudent to just gift him the palace’s entire tea stores.”
“Well, as long as he’s occupied…”
“Quite.” With the recent revelations about the Order of the White Lotus, and not only Xing, but Uncle Iroh’s involvement in it, the princess actually felt a bit out of her element for once.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Xing had revealed what he knew about the secretive order, and left Uncle Iroh to do the rest of the explaining. It was…enlightening, at the very least. But it didn’t truly explain too much. They were an order that shared knowledge, but also sought to guide and protect the Avatar. Yet her uncle was content sitting around and passively observing the world fly past him, while Xing seemed more interested in the Avatar as a political tool than as a savior of the world.
There were still other members out in all three realms, even, according to her uncle, the upper echelons of Fire Nation nobility. Azula wracked her brain for a night trying to figure out who could or could not be part of the little order.
Still, for all the worry about an international underground network, it was heartening to know where Xing’s loyalties lay at least. “As I understand it, the Avatar is an agent of balance, so we have to be sure to carefully define what that balance is.”
Azula had felt a stirring of pride at Xing’s intentions, though her uncle’s protest dampened it somewhat.
“I understand your intentions, Xing, and I applaud your intentions. However, we should not interfere directly in dictating the Avatar’s duty. You of all people should understand the precariousness of maintaining balance.”
Xing clicked his tongue at that, but kept firmly polite. Azula recalled feeling some amusement at how her uncle winced. “With all due respect, Prince Iroh, trying to keep balance is a futile task if you don’t address reality. This isn’t just some scale to rebalance by shifting the weights around. Too much has changed, too much has been allowed to happen, to simply ask for things to return to the way they were.”
“That is true, bu-”
“The Avatar cannot bring back the thousands of his lost people,” Xing interrupted firmly. “The Earth Kingdom’s corruption cannot be allowed to resume. The Southern Water Tribe’s depopulation cannot be miraculously undone. And the generations of Fire Nation people cannot be evicted and ‘sent back’ to the home islands that they never considered as their home in the first place.”
The older prince was silent for a moment before he asked, “what do you suggest then, Xing?”
“Like I said, redefine the point of balance. The square has become a triangle, whether we like it or not. Adjustments must be made.”
It took some further debating, but Uncle Iroh eventually relented to at least save the debate for another time, preferably when the Avatar next showed up. Best of all, he actually looked like he’d consider Xing’s points seriously.
“If there’s nothing else…” Xing’s voice brought Azula back to the present. “...we have a guest to meet.”
The finishing touches were being added to resolve the Dai Li issue, the army of colonial officials were still out in the city gathering information, so that was about right. There wasn’t anything else to really look into for the time being.
Azula nodded, and Xing gave the order. After some waiting, the throne room’s repaired doors swung open, permitting two people to enter. The first was a man dressed in a craftsman’s apron with an…interesting hairstyle and a hand with wooden fingers of all things. He seemed calm and curious if anything, stealing glances at his surroundings. Beside him was a boy who bore some resemblance, and looked torn between being resentful and awed as he strode into the great hall.
Both of them walked right up until the sound of shifting spears hinted at them to stop. The eccentric man coughed before bowing a bit too shallowly for even a minor noble. The boy barely moved until his father’s guiding hand pushed him into a similar bow.
“We’ve come as you requested,” the man announced.
Xing ignored the many breaches of protocol, and so Azula did to…for now. He was smiling though, so the presence of these two must be of some significance. “I’m glad you agreed. I hope your journey wasn’t too hard?” For some reason, Xing was directing his gaze at the boy in particular, who in turn fidgeted nervously and couldn’t meet his gaze.
“The trip was uneventful, thank you.”
“Good… Good. We’re still clearing out the abandoned land, so there’ll be plenty of housing available for you and anyone who followed you here. In the meantime though, I could use your help in figuring out some things.”
This time the boy snapped out of his uneasiness to point a finger at Xing. “My father won’t help you make weapons.”
Xing nodded, ignoring the sudden outburst even as the man calmed his son down. “I did not ask you here to make weapons. I’m here to offer you a job, to improve this city for its people’s sake. Improving the Agrarian Zone’s food production, resolving the cramped living conditions of the Lower Ring, sanitation works across the city… I have need for a creative mind to deal with civil engineering.”
“I did put some thought into your talk about sanitation…”
“Dad, really? Working with the Scorpion?”
“Those are interesting problems, Teo. Problems that, I have to admit, I’ve not really considered until he brought it up, and are now screaming for some solutions.”
The father looked to Xing with a nod of gratitude. “Besides, I owe you my son’s legs…”
Legs? Now that sounded like a tale… Azula raised her hand to stop Ty Lee from interrupting with the inevitable stream of questions.
“...though I must ask, will my work be…contained?”
Xing’s smile broadened. “Your inventions will be fully credited as yours, and you’re free to market them so long as they’re for civilian use. I just ask that as your employer, Ba Sing Se will be the first to make use of any innovation that would help uplift its people.”
Azula kept herself from frowning. Just who was this man that Xing was trying to win over?
“Dad, we don’t have to do this,” the boy called Teo pleaded. “He’s the Scorpion!”
“And a prince of Ba Sing Se as of a week or so ago,” Xing added. “I’m offering this city to be your sandbox, within reason, of course. The down side about this arrangement is that any messes you make will be yours to clean up.”
That seemed to have clinched it, as the man eventually nodded. “I’m free to leave if I wish?”
“So long as you’ve given us a chance to discuss things first, you will be free to leave unharmed and unmolested. I’ll even have it down on paper if that’s of any comfort.”
“As if you won’t try to weasel your way through it,” Teo snarked, and Azula began to wonder if the boy really had to be part of the recruitment package.
Xing though only shrugged it off. “You’re free to decline this offer, I won’t hold it against you.”
“No,” the man said firmly. “I accept your employment.” Then he turned to his son, who looked aghast. “We’ll owe it to him to give him a chance, Teo.” And then Teo became uncomfortable again, which Azula found she much preferred to than an antagonistic brat.
The little meeting was over after Xing assigned them their quarters and workshop (and Azula realized the two peasants didn’t bother to properly introduce themselves…), and once more the throne room was quiet again.
Ty Lee went off to train Bosco the freakish just-bear, leaving Azula with Xing in the great hall. “Do I want to know the story about those two?”
“Maybe,” he answered with a shrug. And then Azula learned of the true fate of the late War Minister Qin, and the fact that Xing could actually heal the crippled with some help. The latter was intriguing, but the former was definitely interesting. It had been an excellent coverup to shake up the War Ministry of its uncreative deadwood, as well as a fitting end for Qin’s arrogance. To resort to weak blackmail to garner a talent that actually created the tanks…
If it was Azula, she’d have captured the Mechanist and broken him with reasonable kindness, as she did with the colonies. Who knows what other inventions he’d be willing to part with if he was not only eager, but also properly funded? Now they had to start from scratch, losing spirits knows what sort of technological progress.
Xing was right in manipulating the brilliant inventor to win him over to their side. And to do so in such a way that the man actually felt obligated to work for Xing, while his son had to begrudgingly agree… It shouldn’t take too much to keep the duo satisfied with life in the city. The boy could use some encouraging, but the revelation of the Dai Li should be of significant help with that.
“You really thought it out, haven’t you?” the princess asked her fiance, very impressed with what he’d just secured for the Fire Nation.
Xing shrugged. “It’s a lot of improvisation, I’ll admit. Lots of working with coincidences…”
Azula rolled her eyes. “And yet it all clicks in place nicely. I suppose you really are spirit touched.” That made him squirm a bit, but he didn’t deny it.
Rather than having to deal with his bout of humbleness, Azula decided to lash out at him with a kick.
Xing immediately reacted by catching her leg and offering her a confused look.
“I’m bored,” Azula simply said, her blood already racing from just considering the lengths her Xing was going to secure her position. Securing the Mechanist’s services, the ambitious plans to win over the Avatar… Not to mention all that he’s done so far for the Fire Nation.
And more importantly, for her.
Azula punched with both hands, forcing Xing into action instead of mulling uselessly. He let go of her leg and backpedaled, still confused but no less alert.
“Come, Xing. It’s been a while since we sparred.”
She lunged with a fist, and as her Xing twisted away, her knee shot out to slam into his side. He managed to deflect that by jabbing his elbow down, forcing Azula to abort the attack or fully lose the initiative.
They stared at each other for a while, and it took a few seconds before she saw the light of amusement in Xing’s eyes. About damned time, too.
“Guards, secure the room,” Azula ordered. “I want a proper duel with my fiance.” The bodyguards lurking in the shadows left swiftly vacated the throne room through all its exits, sealing the doors behind them.
“Ready, Xing?” Azula asked, lunging again right as she finished saying his name.
Xing swatted her first strike aside as expected, and her follow up jab almost caught him right in the neck, if not for his own counterattack which forced her to twist aside or run herself into his foot.
“Weird time for a duel,” he commented at last, but she disagreed with a grin.
“Do we have anything better to do?”
Xing conceded with a nod. “Point.” And then he was skipping aside as Azula charged at him with a flurry of kicks and punches. None of them landed.
“You’re getting good, my princess,” he taunted, causing her grin to grow.
“Not just good, Xing.” Azula swept in with a low, sweeping kick, quickly changing directions and transitioning to a rising hook from the opposite direction the moment Xing dodged aside. She scored a glancing blow to his ribs as he couldn’t fully twist clear, and Azula’s blood raced even faster.
“I’ve gotten much better.”
“Really now?” Xing said as he lightly patted at his side before slipping into a ready stance.
This time it was Azula trying to dance away as Xing took the offensive. He was right in front of her, and then he was suddenly behind her. She ducked to avoid the falling overhand strike, but overextended by using the momentum to deliver a spinning backhand of her own.
Xing caught the extended arm and yanked her towards him, but the princess barely avoided the waiting knee and kicked at his sole rooted leg to throw him onto the ground. She realized her mistake the moment Xing grabbed at both her wrists this time and pulled her down with him, and Azula barely had time to react as he was already rolling as he barely landed on his back.
She found herself staring up at him, finding the same exhilaration she felt in his dilated eyes. They were both breathing a little heavier, which somehow made Azula aware of her blood pounding heavily in her ears. Xing lowered himself to bring his lips against hers, and all thoughts of a fight fled as the couple kissed.