The next few weeks were…frustrating…to say the least.

Wufong had swiftly proved himself to be the worst kind of petty bureaucrat just as I feared. For every order, every meeting, and even some simple requests he had a list of procedures and obscure laws on how they needed to be conducted or carried out.

It hadn’t exactly made him many friends but it accomplished his goal handily.

While my reputation with the local nobility and officers had ironically only gotten better after every meeting thanks to everyone’s shared dislike for the Chancellor and their sympathy for how much I had to put up with him, I was quickly being cut out of the local power structure.

Worse, I couldn’t even blame them for it.

When the choice was either wasting two hours going over every single step to make sure proper etiquette was observed for greeting a Princess under the threat of being reported to the Fire Lord for disrespecting the Royal Family or simply not having the Princess involved at all and simply sending a summary later…well, it wasn’t difficult to see what option most officials went with.

Oh, they tried to put up with the Chancellor and his tricks, if only to avoid getting on my bad side, but the simple fact of the matter was that Bulan was a major military hub. Certain people simply couldn’t be tied up in ceremony all day and certain decisions had to be made as quickly as possible. And because of that I had a hard time meeting with the officers in the navy, which meant I was having a very hard time completing Father’s assignment.

Three patrols were sent out with absolutely nothing to show for it and thanks to the attention to detail Wufong was demanding, sending more was a massive waste of time. By the time that a patrol came back, reported their findings, and another was sent out…the information would be dated and therefore useless thanks to the Chancellor.

And speaking of useless…

“Greetings, Princess Azura. Has there been any progress regarding your task you would like sent to your father?” My latest greatest irritant asked as he walked into the room. He was allowed to skip the proper greetings and ceremony he insisted everyone else follow because my Father had excused him from them, much to my displeasure.

“Of course not,” I snapped, not seeing a reason to be courteous. “The Water Tribe pirates were spotted days ago by the last patrol I managed to be sent out, despite your meddling. They will be long gone before I can arrange for a hunter patrol to chase them down.”

“Now, Princess, I know you have gotten used to doing things your own way. But you must learn how to manage your time within proper etiquette if you wish to Honor your family.” Chancellor Wufong smirked. “Even your father, Fire Lord Ozai, is bound by these rules.”

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Yes, the father that had his first wife assassinated, arranged for his father to be killed, usurped his older brother’s position, and mutilated his son before exiling him certainly cared for etiquette.

“I certainly hope my father appreciates your dedication to such things should something happen.”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand your meaning…”

Probably the most annoying thing about the Chancellor was the fact he was actually a competent politician and tried to never underestimate me. Where many would look at my age and assume I was beaten with my influence being stripped away and my time tied up in ceremony. Wufong never relaxed. He assumed I – correctly, I might add – that I was working to get rid of him just as much as he was working to keep me under his thumb.

And as much as I didn’t want to admit it, as things stood I had almost now way of stopping him from impeding my orders. That didn’t mean I couldn’t pressure him just as much as he was me.

“It’s nothing much. I simply sent my own report to my Father about what would have happened without the delays you insist on as well as an analysis from Admiral Soro. According to him, there was a good chance we could have reduced or destroyed their little fleet entirely if hunter ships had been deployed immediately.”

“I…I see…” A now slightly nervous Wufong replied, discreetly wiping some sweat away.

I’m sure he did.

Up until now, anything I did or did not do reflected solely on me and my ability to lead. But by sending my father a report not only from me but also one of his admirals showing that we could have ended the pirates if not for Wufong’s meddling, I had laid the blame for whatever the pirates did next partially at the Chancellor’s feet. Normally this wouldn’t make much of a difference since Wufong was specifically allowed by my father to interfere with my operations. But there was a problem.

My Father was not a reasonable man.

Even if he ordered Chancellor Wufong to act as he did, there was nothing stopping the Fire Lord for holding him responsible should something happen. If an incident following this was big enough it could spell disaster for Wufong.

Of course, that required something actually happening. I wouldn’t be able to use this to suddenly get rid of Wufong’s interference, he couldn’t simply stop without going against the order from my father, but it should be enough to at least get him to back off some.

“Ahem, I see…” The Chancellor repeated again. “I had expected to spend some time going over your activities, but if you have already submitted a report then I suppose it would be alright to end the meeting here. Have a good day Princess.” I smiled as the annoying old man turned and retreated for now.

The minute he left the room, however, I pulled a bell that summoned Chi Song to me.

“Hi, Princess. Managed to send the old guy running, huh?” She casually greeted.

“For now. But he seemed to have planned to keep me occupied for a while with reports while something else was going on. Ask around and find out if something important is happening in the city today Wufong doesn’t want me knowing about.”

-o-

“Azura, wait! Slow down! Spirits, how are you moving that fast without breaking into a jog…” Chi Song complained as she rushed after me.

Unfortunately for her I was not in the mood to humor requests at the moment. In fact, anything that tried to get in my way at the moment was likely to get incinerated. Something that must have shown on my face because as I neared my destination one of the guards visibly swallowed when he moved to block me.

“A-apologies My Lady, but the meeting hall is closed by order of Chancellor Wufong until negotia-”

“Move.”

“Yes Princess!” The guard practically teleported into an ‘At Attention’ stance to get out of the way.

I didn’t pay him much attention though. No, that was reserved for the people inside the meeting hall.

The next set of guards were more cooperative and immediately opened the doors to the hall when I got close, allowing me to enter without a fuss. My eyes locked onto the two visitors even as the trade official in charge of the hall for the day kept talking.

“...as much as I would like to simply approve everything you are requesting on credit, even such distinguished guests as you simply cannot afford-”

“I will cover the costs. Bring whatever they asked for to their ship.” I interrupted, eyes still locked on the visitors.

“Princess…”

“I said I will cover them. Now go, leave us.”

The official bowed and left us. I spent a good several seconds looking over the two visitors before I allowed myself to relax and for a small smile to form on my face.

“Hello. It’s good to see you again. Uncle. Zuko.”