“I’m sorry Uncle, Father made it clear I cannot give you any more assistance than this.” I said sadly as I watched the last of the supply crates being loaded on the small ship.
“Nonsense Princess. Your help is greatly appreciated. If not for you, we would have needed to ration our food carefully before we reached the colonies.” my Uncle Iroh said kindly. “I’m sure your brother appreciates it as well.”
“Half-brother.” I replied. I shifted my gaze to the upper deck and watched the figure of my half-brother Zuko shouted orders at those around him. Every time I saw the thick bandages covering the left side of his face, my heart clenched. It was a reminder of how little power I had, and my failure to change the fate of my family.
“He made it clear yesterday that I should keep away since he doesn’t need the pity of someone else unable to inherit the throne.”
Uncle Iroh hummed while he stroked his beard. “Prince Zuko is very unbalanced right now, Princess. Do not let words said in anger come between the two of you. I know he still cares about you, and will apologize once he calms down.”
“Of course being banished, it's not like you will see him anytime soon.” Another voice says behind us.
“Hello Azula, Mai. Shouldn’t you two be in class?” I greeted my younger sister and her perpetually miserable attendant.
Mei bowed to me with a mumbled greeting, but Azula just waved me off. “Come now Sister, it’s not everyday you get to see a member of the royal family being banished. Why, this is history in the making! I just had to see it for myself.”
“A black history, certainly. Future generations will remember the time the crown prince of the Fire Nation was banished for the terrible crime of caring for his people.” I stated dryly.
Our conversation was interrupted by a loud horn coming from the ship.
“The ship will be leaving soon. I must leave now.” Uncle Iroh said. He bowed to me, right fist under left palm in a Fire Nation salute. “Goodbye Princess, I will send word when we reach the colonies and decide on our destination.” He repeated the action to Azula.
I wanted nothing more to run to him and hug him. But I could not afford the breach in decorum with so many people around us. Instead I returned the bow. “Take care, Uncle. Try not to bother Zuko with your proverbs too much?”
“Yes, Zu-zu’s brain might not be able handle it.” Azula commented from the side. “Have fun chasing ghosts, do let us know if you find anything interesting.”
“Azula, mind your manners.” I said sternly as Uncle Iroh walked back to the ship.
“What? You know this is a fool's errand. The Avatar hasn’t been seen in nearly a hundred years. If he hasn’t been found by now, he won’t be found by one ship led by a disgraced prince and a fat, failure of a general.” Azula said in that sure tone only an eleven year old can produce.
“Fool’s errand or not, mocking someone for their circumstances is the mark of a weak person. Not to mention, as usual, Father has managed to weaken the position of the Royal Family in the eyes of the rest of the nobility.”
“Weakened us? But he showed he was decisive and merciful to everyone. He didn’t favor his family over a breach in etiquette and spared Zu-zu’s life after he disgraced himself by refusing to fight!” Azula seemed shocked I considered a show of power the wrong move. “How could that weaken us?”
I watched the ship Zuko and Uncle Iroh were on slowly slip out of the dock while I considered the best way to answer. I had made some progress over the years curbing Azula’s more sadistic qualities, mostly by ensuring there were consequences when she acted out, but it was clear she valued our father’s approval more than my own.
“He showed that he would seek the maximum punishment for a minor outburst.” I said slowly. “While Zuko speaking out of turn was an insult, normally it would be resolved by a reparation gift or at most a spar. Not an Agni Kai.
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By scarring Zuko even after he refused to fight, he showed he will also not forgive a slight, for any reason. Even if it speaking out against a truly stupid idea.”
Zuko’s ship had cleared the dock and started heading out to sea. I judged there was no point standing here anymore. I turned around to face my younger half-sister and her friend, motioning them to follow me.
Azula dutifully followed next to me. Though from the corner of my eye, I could see Mai stare after the ship a little longer, before surreptitiously wiping a few tears from her eyes.
Ah right, she had a crush on Zuko.
“Well, shouldn’t that just make everyone else not make mistakes then? Isn’t that a good thing?” Azula asked, jerking my attention back to her.
“No, it will simply make everyone afraid to admit making a mistake. Because if the Crown Prince was disfigured and banished for speaking out of turn, what happens to a captain that loses a battle? What about a garrison that loses a town? Or perhaps more simply, a mining town that cannot meet the demand requested? These are ultimately the responsibility of the nobles in the area, so when they report to Father about the state of the war do you think they will be truthful if things are not going well?”
“Of course! How could they dare to lie if they are so worried about the consequences?”
I sighed. Maybe that was the wrong argument to take.
“What about you, Mai? Do you think they would be truthful?” I asked.
Judging by the wide-eyed expression Mai was not expecting me to include her in this conversation. It was probably a little mean of me to do so, but this would be an important lesson for Azula.
“It should be natural for a leader to take responsibility for their failure, Princess.” Mai said, neatly sidestepping my question, but falling right into the trap I laid out.
“You see that Azula? She couldn’t give me an answer one way or the other without potentially offending one of us. So she gave me a non-answer that sounds nice, but doesn’t address the problem.”
Azula glared at her friend, realizing Mai didn’t agree with her answer.
“Don’t get upset Azula.” I chided. “That's what happens when people are afraid to speak the truth. They say what the person in charge wants to hear or something pleasant, but empty.”
“They wouldn’t lie if they were scared enough.” Azula pouted. She looked adorable and I had to stop myself from pinching her cheeks in response. “And if they did their jobs right, they wouldn’t have to worry. Father won’t punish people for doing their job.”
“He absolutely would.” I said sadly, still resisting the urge to pinch Azula’s cheeks. “In fact, many nobles will think he did just that to Zuko.”
Azula looked confused. So did Mai, in fact.
“Many nobles believe it is the duty of the Royal Family to guide the Fire Lord by advising him from multiple points of view. While Zuko was wrong how he did it, it could be seen he was doing his job as a member of our Family. It’s partly because of this Father makes sure I’m never around during big meetings. So to them, Father punished a boy who made a mistake the first time he was asked to do his job.”
The two young girls were silent as we walked through the streets of the capital. Lost in thought as they digested my words.
I also let my thoughts drift. The fallout for the prince being banished was starting to be felt as alliances among the nobles started to shift. As usual, Father ignored the growing chaos. Content to wait for the new lines to be drawn before terrifying everyone to fall in line with him.
If I was lucky, a few would join my bloc but it was unlikely. I was already struggling to keep hold of the nobles that supported Uncle. With him leaving, they would be harder to convince to stay on my side.
“But if Zuko…” Azula started hesitantly. Only continuing at my encouraging nod. “...if he was bad at his job, shouldn’t he be replaced? That's what happens to the firebending instructors when they don’t teach me right.”
“Just because someone does a job the way you don’t like, doesn’t mean they are bad at their job.” I said. “And just because you don’t agree with what they say doesn’t mean they should be replaced.”
Azula looked skeptically at me. We were pretty close to my destination, but I guess I could try to fit in one more lesson.
“Azula, you learned the fourteenth firebending set this week, did you not?” I asked, seemingly at random.
She nodded. “Please demonstrate it for me. No fire though.”
She still looked confused but seamlessly went through the forms like it was easy as breathing for her. She truly was a genius when it came to firebending. And I could say without doubt I was proud of how far she had come.
She finished the form with a straight right punch, her left fist cocked above her head, and her right foot forward.
“That was beautifully done.” I said, and Azula looked ready to preen at the praise. “But wrong.”
“What!? No it wasn’t! Father himself said I did it perfectly the other day!” Azula screeched.
“I’m sure he did.” I said placatingly, waving my hands to calm the flustered pre-teen down. “The thing is though, the fourteenth set ends differently depending on if you use the Northern form or the Southern one. Father uses the Southern one, so to him it looks perfect. In the Northern one, the final move is a vertical sweep that leaves your right hand by your right foot, and your left arm straight back.” I demonstrated the pose. “So to me, the form is wrong.”
I straightened up and looked at my half-sister with a soft smile. “In the end, neither one of us are wrong. But if the best firebending master from the south told me I did the form wrong, should I have him replaced? After all he didn’t agree with my version of firebending.”
I’m pleased to see both girls giving my words some thought.
“You don’t have to give me an answer.” I told them. “Just keep in mind people have different opinions than you. And just because you don’t agree with them, doesn’t mean you should throw them away.”
I clapped my hands suddenly making the both of them jump.
“Now then, you two should get back to class. I believe you owe Ty Lee an apology for covering for you.”
The two of them looked around before realizing I had led them back to the gates in front of the Royal Fire Academy for Girls. The headmistress standing at the entrance glaring sternly at them while a sheepish Ty Lee waved awkwardly nearby.
Leaving the three of them to the not-so-tender mercies of the headmistress, a woman I had personally discovered had no problem disciplining a princess, I made my way back to my estate.