The domestic operations that followed in the two weeks after the battle at the North Pole were far more stressful than anyone cared to admit. The North Pole marked the first capital city the Fire Nation had conquered during the war, and with it came numerous logistical problems that were difficult to manage. First and foremost among these was actually subjugating resistance. Despite a total military victory over the city, small bands of warriors and Waterbenders that had not been captured were still striking out at the newly established Fire Nation patrols and occupation forces.

Needless to say, this had led to more than one skirmish, with numerous casualties for both sides. Thankfully, this city was the only major settlement the Northern Water Tribe possessed; all of their other settlements were so scattered and small that meeting any resistance from them was extremely unlikely. It made it easier for the Fire Nation to focus its manpower if nothing else. Even so, it was difficult to establish order when you had to constantly watch your back for icicle spears or worse.

The state of affairs was a tentative one. Obviously, none of the natives were happy about being conquered and occupied, but aside from the most stringent and bitter of them, most of the city's inhabitants had already realized that their negative preconceptions about Fire Nation dominion were, at the very least, significantly exaggerated. After all, the city was still standing, no one had been executed, and none of them had been dragged off in chains to slave away in some faraway mine. Of course, Xisheng knew that many rumors spread during wartime that were essentially straight up lies: one of the most ridiculous that he had heard was that the Fire Nation dressed their prisoners in Army uniforms and pit them against their own comrades unarmed. Aside from all of the particular reasons such a tactic would backfire horrifically, it was a practice the Fire Nation had never employed. They did take many prisoners, but certainly not for reasons such as that.

Of course, he also knew that not everything he had heard about the Water Tribes and Earth Kingdom was true either. While the Fire Nation didn't rely on propaganda for morale nearly as much as their enemies, considering that they didn't have to lie about winning, Xisheng had still heard a rumor or two that had turned out to be false. The city he currently occupied was proof enough that the concept of savagery and barbarism was as foreign to the Northern Water Tribe as it was to the Fire Nation. While they were lacking in some regards, it was not like they were living in caves and inbreeding. They had their own culture, and while it had some growing to do, it deserved to be treated with dignity.

Thankfully, one of the Fire Nation's objectives was already coming to fruition. While it was little more than eavesdropping and a general atmosphere, considering the tight lipped nature of the Water Tribesmen around their conquerors, it was fairly obvious that they were disgruntled with their dear moon spirit for failing to protect them, or otherwise do anything to really help them at all. Of course there were still many individuals that were praying to the stupid fish for salvation or simply out of misguided faith, but there seemed to be a good number of people that now shunned those spirits for abandoning them: or at the least, they were asking doubtful questions about said spirits that never would have crossed their minds before.

This realization lifted Xisheng's spirits a great deal. If there was one thing that had been proven without a doubt thanks to the Fire Nation's conquest, it was that the spirits of this world were useless leeches that did nothing for the ones who revered them. In the past several decades of their expansion into EK territory, not once had they been opposed by a spirit. Not even in areas where spirits had actually been sighted.

In the larger scheme of things, reliance on spirits to solve problems was hindering human progress. After all, if you truly believed some sort of spirit would handle all of your problems, what ambition did you have to advance your own standing? To innovate and grow? Many of the Fire Nation's academic minds attributed their massive technological advancement to the shift in spirit worship a hundred years ago. Maybe they were biased, but it couldn't be denied that the Fire Nation had advanced by leaps and bounds after the abolition of spirit worship.

Either way, there was a lot more to be done here at the North Pole. The current combats with the few renegade fighters in the city were unacceptable, mostly because they hindered the Fire Nation's efforts to implement any semblance of unfettered control. For that very reason, Captain Chikaraishi, with Xisheng and another guard at his flanks, stood before the Princess of the Northern Water Tribe within her private quarters to discuss the matter. Under normal circumstances this issue would have been brought to the Chieftain, but the man had been killed in the final assault on the palace. He had been a warrior through and through, fighting alongside his men in the final reckoning. Xisheng respected him for that, but he imagined that his daughter felt quite differently about the whole ordeal. After all, she did not seem to be in an extremely cooperative mood.

"Princess, surely you understand the severity of the situation. The remnant fighters in your city are inflicting casualties on both sides. As their leader, it is your duty to order them to stand down."

The white haired teenager, thrust into a position of power she was not ready for, looked ill at ease with the entire situation. However, she was still firm in her reply. She had guts, even if she wasn't fully confident in what she was doing.

"You expect me to tell my people to simply surrender to you after you invaded our home and killed our people? For what reason should I do this?"

Captain Chikaraishi, the man who had spoken so highly of Xisheng after the battle and his duel with Iroh, sighed. "The battle is already lost, Princess. Further fighting will change nothing. It will only cost both your people and mine dozens of lives."

"I will not order my people to give up. You are invaders and murderers. Even defeated, we'll never give into you."

The Captain sighed again, seeing that his efforts were fruitless. He motioned for his two comrades to follow him out of the Princess' private chamber. The Princess herself was not being imprisoned, at least not in a traditional sense. She was allowed to go wherever she pleased within her city, but she was always escorted by two Firebenders. She'd been treated very well for a defeated royal.

Stepping out of the room with his immediate commander, Xisheng watched as the Captain pulled off his helmet and pinched the bridge of his nose. His short black hair would have normally been slicked to his head by sweat, but that was not the case with the temperature around here taken into account.

"I fail to see how this is my job instead of the Admiral's..."

For the record, Xisheng felt exactly the same way. Zhao had done very little after the battle itself. He had mostly relegated all of the important tasks to his subordinates. It was just one thing Xisheng had found to dislike about the man among many others.

Though Chikaraishi wasn't specifically talking to anyone, Xisheng responded to his comment anyway.

"It's honestly better off this way, Captain. I can't imagine the Princess would respond well to someone of the Admiral's... disposition."

The Captain snorted in amusement. "Well, that's true. Admiral Zhao's not exactly the most tactful person to speak to. On top of the age gap... this girl's what, fifteen, or thereabouts? I'm not even sure how to deal with someone that young when they aren't a soldier who has to listen to me."

Xisheng glanced back at the icy doorway he and his comrades had just recently exited. "She's a young and inexperienced person forced into an incredibly demanding position with little warning. That alone would be a heavy burden, but it is also falling on her shoulders right after her city has been conquered and her father has died in battle. Frankly, I'm impressed she is handling it as well as she is. She is more level-headed than she appears. I do not think her beyond reason. We simply need to find the right rationale to persuade her."

The young soldier received no immediate response, prompting him to look back at his immediate superior. Chikaraishi was leveling a curious look at him. Xisheng wasted no time in trying to rescind his words. He'd already been very bold the day before with even higher-ranking officers. It had worked out that time, but it would be best if he stopped pushing his luck.

"My apologies, Captain. Don't mind me, I'll speak no further."

Chikaraishi smiled. "No need to apologize, Corporal. I like to think of myself as someone the enlisted can see as an approachable comrade. Besides, you seem to have an intuitive understanding of these things. Tell you what, why don't you try talking to the Princess?"

Xisheng raised an eyebrow, not that it could be seen under his helmet. "Sir?"

"Why not? Admiral Zhao wants results, but he isn't going to try himself. I've been trying to get through to her for days. I don't see any harm in letting you take a shot at it. We've only worked together for a brief time, but so far, I've come to see you as very rational. You often think of things others do not. You may come up with some angle to pursue that would never occur to me. At worst, you fail, which leaves us exactly where we are now anyway."

Though he had only known Captain Chikaraishi for about two weeks, Xisheng was honored to hear the man speak of him this way. At the very least, Chikaraishi seemed like an honorable soldier trusted by many of the men under his command.

"If you would like me to make an attempt, Captain, I'll do my best."

"Have at it then. Me and Corporal Ting here are returning to the barracks. Consider yourself off-duty until midday. I'll need your for another patrol at that time."

Bowing to his superior officer, Xisheng turned to head back into the Princess' chambers, pushing open the large white doors that he had just so recently exited. The two Firebenders standing guard at said door did nothing to stop him. It probably helped that they had overheard most of the conversation just now.

Yue, who had been sitting on her bed with her head in her hands, glanced up to identify who was now intruding on her space. Xisheng could easily pick out the traces of tears on her face, though the young woman swiftly put on a stern expression. She was a tough one, there was no doubt about that.

Naturally, the white-haired teen couldn't tell him apart from the Captain, so she seemed especially irked that he was in there.

"Was our last exchange unclear, Captain? I will not order my people to cease resistance."

Xisheng folded his hands behind his back. "I'm not Captain Chikaraishi, Princess. My name is Xisheng. I'm a corporal."

Yue looked surprised at the presence of an enlisted soldier to appeal to her rather than an officer, but she still did not seem any more cooperative than before. "I assure you the rank of the invader that comes to me will not change my decision."

Seeking to gain a more human approach, Xisheng removed his helmet, leveling his dual colored gaze at the girl just a year or two younger than him. The look on her face proved she was actually shocked by the revelation that there was an actual human being under the helmet. Xisheng supposed he couldn't blame her; it was difficult to humanize the enemy, especially when you never actually saw their face.

"I admire your resilience, Princess. Few people in your position could remain so composed and strong-willed. Though I must confess, your courage in the face of adversity is crossing the line into foolishness. I hope you'll forgive my bluntness in saying that."

Whatever her initial impression of him had been, Yue's expression hardened at Xisheng's words.

"Nothing would be more foolish than to give in to your tyranny."

Xisheng refrained from making any expression that could present him as smug. That really wasn't the angle he was trying to go for here.

"Our tyranny doesn't seem to be so catastrophic as you are making it out to be, Princess. We haven't razed your city to the ground. We haven't enslaved your people or killed them in the streets. We haven't even imprisoned you."

Unfortunately, Yue didn't seem to find any solace in these points. "Oh, forgive me for not appreciating how reasonable your unprovoked foreign occupation has been. Do you honestly expect me to be thankful because our conquerors managed to exercise some form of restraint amongst their evil? My father, and many of my countrymen, lie dead because of your actions! You think that sin can be mitigated or forgiven because of your 'reasonable' terms of occupation?!"

Xisheng fell silent for a moment, pondering how to respond to that. What could he even say at all? It was hardly like he could try to diminish Yue's loss by saying that her father died for some abstract concept of greater good. No one who had been slighted was going to believe that.

"I cannot deny you that, Princess. Many lives have been lost because of this conflict, on both our side and yours. Lives that could have gone on for years to come had this battle never happened. Those lives are lost forever. And I understand why you will only see injustice in it."

Yue said nothing to that, seemingly surprised that a Fire Nation soldier was admitting to such things, instead of trying to deny her accusations or wave them off as irrelevant. This was admittedly not a conversation she had ever expected to have with a Fire Nation grunt of all people.

With the newly minted chief silent for the moment, Xisheng continued, figuring that he could take a new approach to his persuasion. He was never going to convince Yue with a 'it's not that bad, just accept it' argument. He needed to focus on something that mattered to her; something that she had not lost yet.

"Princess Yue, I cannot ask you to set aside your hate for us. I know that is impossible. However, I can ask you to consider the lives of your countrymen who have not yet been lost. This occupation has been tame thus far because resistance has been light. But if partisan attacks continue to increase in severity, if Fire Nation casualties continue to mount due to rebel activity, there will be retaliation. Our military will not stand idly by and allow its troops to die without recourse. And stamping out rebels is no simple matter: they tend to disperse into civilian crowds, hide in the homes of innocent people... rebels and partisans almost always drag innocents into danger. If the Fire Nation has to launch a campaign to root out rebel forces in this city, there will be many more lives lost."

To Xisheng's credit, Yue's stern expression did falter somewhat. His words seemed to at least plant some doubt in her mind about the validity of her stance. Seeing this, Xisheng did his utmost to drive the point home.

"This is not a matter of pride or justice. The Fire Nation already poured immense resources into taking this city. Hundreds of warships, tens of thousands of soldiers, hundreds of thousands of gold in supplies and logistics: having spent all of that to achieve victory here, our forces are not going to leave, no matter how determined your rebels become. If your people push, we will push harder. Our army is dozens of times the size of your own forces. Even the occupation force here right now dwarfs it. If it comes down to a matter of bloodshed, it is your people who will suffer the most, not us. But it doesn't have to be that way. You are the leader of your people now. You can drive the truth home: that living, for both themselves and their families, is more important than resisting as a point of pride. This war has claimed an untold number of lives already. That statistic does not have to grow even more grave because of a pointless insurrection demanding needless sacrifice."

To all of this, Yue still remained silent, even though her icy blue eyes were fixed on the floor in front of her. For a moment, Xisheng wondered if he had actually gotten through to her. But he didn't get to think that for long before Yue finally spoke once again.

"What right do you have?"

Though disappointed to hear this instead of some sort of agreement with his narrative, Xisheng did his best to maintain a neutral expression.

"I'm sorry?"

While she had been staring at the ground before, Yue now raised her steely gaze to the soldier before her. "What right do you have to speak of unnecessary death? Of avoiding needless loss? How can you speak of such things when it is your nation that started this war? Your nation that invades homes, destroys families, your nation that has wrought so much death and pain against people that have done nothing to you? All of the suffering that the world has endured for the last one hundred years is the fault of the Fire Nation. And yet you have the audacity to speak of such things?"

Xisheng closed his eyes for a brief moment as he contemplated his answer. Long had he pondered these very truths; the Fire Nation had inflicted a great deal of pain on the world. Pain that could have been avoided. However, the pain they caused now was to save the world from centuries of suffering later. Centuries of living under stratification forced upon humanity by a spirit that fancied itself a demigod. But just how much sacrifice could be justified for the potential of a better future? A better future that, most certainly, was not envisioned by everyone who waged this war?

Xisheng didn't have an answer to that. And yet, he posed that exact sentiment to Yue now.

"Tell me, Princess: do you believe there is some amount of evil that can be justified in the pursuit of a greater good?"

Yue's expression was clearly confused. "What are you talking about?"

"If you must steal from those who have done nothing wrong in order to feed your starving family, is that just? If you are a healer who must refuse to save one innocent person so that you may save two elsewhere, is that just? What if you are forced to kill one undeserving person to save another? Can that be justified?"

Yue's brow furrowed in consternation. "Surely you are not daring to imply that your nation commits these evils to achieve some greater good?"

Xisheng merely shrugged. "Surely you must know that we genuinely believe we are, at the least."

Growing furious in a heartbeat, perhaps in part due to Xisheng's nonchalance in saying this, Yue raised her voice.

"Your misguided nationalistic pride and supremacist beliefs do not make your nation right! You expect me to believe that this war has been anything more than a matter of greed for you?!"

"If it is a matter of greed, we have not done a very good job of it. We have gained much, particularly when it comes to territory, but we have lost so much more. It's been a hundred years of war, Princess. On and off, for sure, but a hundred years of preparing for or waging it regardless. The amount of time, resources, and sheer human lives we have poured into this conflict at this point have far outstripped the value of the colonies and territory we've gained. If greed were truly our only goal, we would have ended the hostilities decades ago: when the amount that we had lost was still less than what we had gained."

The snow-haired girl across from him crossed her arms. "I hope you are not sincerely expected me to perceive this war of aggression as some sort of noble sacrifice on the part of your people."

"I do not. We are the enemy. We've killed people you love. Damaged the home you've grown up in. I know you will not see us as anything other than monsters anytime soon. My point was only that some undesirable actions can be justified if the outcome is worth it: that you may consider the lives of your people a valuable enough reason to submit to your foes. Foes who are, currently, only interested in trying to maintain a military presence here with as little hassle as possible."

Xisheng could see Yue grit her teeth as she contemplated this notion. Her father had died to resist these invaders. Would she not dishonor his legacy by submitting to them without a fight? And yet, the reason her father had fought them was to protect the lives of his people... was that more important than pride?

Ultimately, the young woman turned leader heaved a heavy sigh. "Know that it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, but... I will implore my countrymen to think of their lives and their families. But make no mistake: we are not accepting your rule. The tides will endure far longer than the flames of your nation's ambition. We are not surrendering: merely turning our resistance from direct aggression to outlasting your occupation."

Doing his best to keep a pleased smile from his face, Xisheng returned the helmet he had removed earlier back to his head.

"Whether it is gladly or reluctant, I cannot complain. This decision will spare the lives of your people, who never asked to be in this situation, as well as many of my own, who are only here because the ones who rule their livelihoods commanded it of them. I am satisfied with that alone."

"Then I implore you to leave me. I... have much to think about."

Though he was under no obligation to do so, Xisheng offered a short bow of respect to Yue. It was the least he could to, since she had chosen to be reasonable. With his diplomatic mission complete, Xisheng turned on his heel and headed for the door, though not without one more comment.

"I hope that we'll both live to see the better future all of this sacrifice has been building towards, Princess."

Not following his rhetoric but obviously not caring for it in the first place, Yue's tiredly glowered at Xisheng's back as he left. "I will live long enough to see the retribution your nation has rightly earned. Be certain of that."

The young soldier said nothing to that as he exited the Princess' chambers. Xisheng nodded to the two guards that stood outside before walking away from it and down the icy steps that would lead him into the city proper. Chikaraishi had said that he was free to relax until midday, but he was unsure of where he should go or what he should do. He supposed he could have returned back to the barracks early just to get new orders, but honestly, Xisheng felt that he deserved a bit of a break. He had just completed an objective far beyond the purview of any ordinary soldier, after all.

With that in mind, Xisheng ventured out into the awful temperatures of the North Pole, wondering why anyone would choose to live there willingly. Then again, with the Avatar ensuring that trespassing on the lands of others was nearly impossible, perhaps the Water Tribes had never really had anywhere to go. Then again, maybe they were well and truly happy here.

Either way, should the Fire Nation emerge victorious, the notion of people being forced to remain in their ancestral homeland under threat of godly retribution would be no more. Perhaps then, some people from the Northern Water Tribe could be enlightened to the joys of living somewhere with a better climate. There was still plenty of water away from these frigid ice caps.

Still, as he slowly walked along the ice bridges and walkways of the North Pole, Xisheng couldn't help but dwell on Yue's words to him. She was right on all accounts in saying the Fire Nation was solely responsible for initiating this war. Frankly speaking, every single person that had died fighting this conflict was on them, as was any of the suffering caused by wartime strife. He couldn't help but ponder the answer to the very moral conundrum he had used to persuade Yue. Could you justify evil if the outcome morally outweighed it?

On one hand, the logical choice was yes. If you had to murder one person to save three, then you did something wrong to achieve something right, and that should have been acceptable. But intrinsically, the question was much more complex. Morally, evil was evil regardless of why it was carried out. The murder of one to save many would still be considered immoral. That said, how could anyone be sure of the righteousness of the Fire Nation's cause? Whether it was intentional or not, they had wiped out an entire race, and claimed the lives of tens of thousands besides.

Ultimately, this cost could change the course of the world, and both save and improve the lives of millions in the future. But did that make it right? Was there a certain point in which the wrong committed would make the better future not worth it?

And of course, there was always the possibility that said better future wouldn't happen anyway. Xisheng wasn't completely naive: he knew that some grand mission to change the world for the betterment of all humanity was not the driving motivator for most people in the Fire Nation. Xisheng didn't believe that was their goal, merely that the outcome of this war would lead to such a thing by default.

The world had been held back too long by the Avatar and the reverence for spirits. Humanity needed to look to itself for the future. There was a world of enlightenment in the future if humanity could just break the chains that had bound them for so long.

This was Xisheng's conviction. He knew that many evils had been committed, and would continue to be. He knew that the people who were wronged would never care for this hypothetical future. But it was why he, personally, chose to fight. Maybe it would take the Fire Nation's conquest to set the wheels in motion, but he was certain that, one day, the things that transpired now would become the stepping stone humanity needed to unleash the potential that had always been kept from them.

And yet, despite having this conviction, Xisheng was certain that his discussion with Yue would haunt his dreams tonight.

----------------------------------------

A mere day later, Princess Yue stood before her assembled people to give the speech that Xisheng had convinced her to be necessary. She stood atop a balcony several stories above a large courtyard that held the assembled inhabitants of the city. Several Fire Nation troops, Xisheng among them, were around the area as well, just to make sure nothing got out of hand. By now, Yue had already addressed her countrymen, and was beginning her speech.

"My countrymen, it is with a heavy heart that I must address you today under the flag of a nation not our own. It has been two weeks since our fathers and brothers gave their lives to defend our home. And in that time, many of you have taken up arms to fight further still. Those who have fought have been brave and fearless. I commend you for that."

Honestly, it was a bit odd to have a speech like this one condoned while under the occupation of a hostile force, but Xisheng had told Chikaraishi that Yue had agreed to a cease in hostilities, and Chikaraishi had told that to Admiral Zhao. That was the only reason they were even allowing her to say things such as this. Still, if she didn't get to the 'stop fighting the Fire Nation' part soon, there would likely be a problem.

"Indeed, you have been brave. That is why I must ask you all... to have the courage to lay down your arms."

A sweeping murmur of confusion and uncertainty rippled through the crown of Water Tribe citizens that had been assembled here. Surely, they had misheard, right? And yet, Yue reaffirmed her sentiment soon enough.

"I understand your desire to fight for the dignity of your home and your people. I am not suggesting that we simply give up and accept this as our future. But as much as it pains me to admit it... war will not bring us the freedom we desire. It will only bring further suffering upon those who yet live. We can continue to stand proud, but we must do so without conflict. Those of you that continue to fight, please consider the lives of your families and friends. As things stand now, more fighting will only-"

At this point, a large portion of the crowd was getting into a frenzy. The outraged voices of many attempted to be heard over all of the others, but more importantly, it was possible that a riot was on the horizon. For the moment though, the majority of the anger was focused on the Princess, and not on the surrounding Fire Nation troops.

"Are you suggesting we just roll over and let them trample on our home?!"

"The real Chieftain would have never said such a thing!"

"You're just a coward! You'd rather surrender to the Ashmakers than fight to the death!"

Xisheng, some distance away from the enraged crowd, shook his head as he witnessed it all. It was difficult to imagine an outcry such as this in the Fire Nation. The people wouldn't dare speak so brazenly to the Fire Lord, even if they were displeased with his decree. Was it respect or fear that created that reality? Probably a little bit of both. Xisheng couldn't honestly say it was a good thing. But then again, maybe it was preferable that your people wouldn't be incited to riot so easily.

As for this situation, many of the people around were starting to move against the perimeter of Fire Nation soldiers. And while Xisheng wasn't actually a part of that perimeter, he was certainly close enough to have some sort of obligation in containing the threat.

However, before Xisheng could take a step towards the commotion, a hand was placed on his shoulder. Turning to face the person that clearly wanted his attention, Xisheng came face to face with Captain Chikaraishi. Considering that he looked no different from any of the other soldiers here with a helmet on, Xisheng wondered how the Captain could have possibly known it was him, but perhaps by now the man recognized his stance, or simply the way he carried himself.

"Xisheng?"

"Captain. How can I assist you, sir?"

Apparently affirming that he did indeed have the right soldier, Chikaraishi withdrew a rolled letter from a pouch at his waist, adorned with a black ribbon that denoted a priority message. "You've got new orders, Corporal. By decree of the Fire Lord himself."

Xisheng did a double-take upon hearing that. Such a thing was not what any common soldier ever expected to hear.

"Captain, surely that's an exaggeration."

"I don't blame you for thinking so. I hardly believed it either: the Fire Lord himself read my written report on the invasion! Apparently, he took a special interest in a perspective that witnessed General Iroh's betrayal... untainted by a certain Admiral's penchant for making himself look good. At least, that was what the messenger told me."

"I suppose there's some merit to that... but what does that have to do with me, Captain?"

Chikaraishi handed the scroll to Xisheng. "As I said, I tried to report what happened as objectively as possible. That included your impressive fight with that traitor. And what I heard from your guard partner about your tactical inputs to Admiral Zhao during the assault."

Xisheng raised an eyebrow. "How did you even know who to talk to for that?"

The Captain chuckled. "She was extolling your virtues in the barracks a few days ago. Well, more like regaling the common soldiers with a tale of 'the most insane and cheeky bastard she'd ever served with', but I digress. Just read the letter, Corporal."

Still a little doubtful, Xisheng took the message and unrolled it so he could read it for himself. The beginning of the message was addressed primarily to the Captain, acknowledging that the report had been thoroughly analyzed and taken into consideration. The second part pertained entirely to Xisheng himself.

For his bravery and dedication to the Fire Nation, Fire Lord Ozai commends Corporal Xisheng. For his role in thwarting a catastrophe and reducing the casualties incurred by the Fire Nation Navy through tactical appraisal and counsel, Corporal Xisheng is hereby promoted to Lieutenant. For his exceptional combat prowess, Lieutenant Xisheng is ordered to return to the capital immediately for induction into the Royal Guards.

Simple as that, the message had nothing more to say, at least in regards to Xisheng. Obviously, it had not been written by the Fire Lord's own hand, but the commendation certainly came from him. No one spoke for the Fire Lord, so no one would ever presume to voice his thoughts for him. That meant that the Fire Lord had indeed read the report submitted by Captain Chikaraishi, and he was truly impressed with Xisheng's role in it all. Or at the very least, he felt that Xisheng's actions were worthy of acknowledgment. The soldier in question couldn't help but feel a massive surge of pride in knowing that, even if he was still some faceless soldier to his nation's leader, he had earned some modicum of respect from him.

Still, all of this news at once was quite shocking. "I didn't even know you could jump from enlisted to officer like that..."

Captain Chikaraishi gave him a hearty pat on the back. "Field promotions are always sudden, soldier. And often extreme. Besides, based on your role in the battle as an individual warrior and a tactician, not to mention your diplomatic success with the Princess, your talent is wasted as a mere Corporal. You've got the makings of a great officer, Lieutenant Xisheng."

"Thank you for saying that, sir. But although I'm honored to have received such a drastic promotion, it doesn't sound like I have a choice in this Royal Guard business..."

This earned another chuckle out of the older man that was still a superior officer by one rank. "Certainly not, but look at it this way; there's no way the Fire Lord would pull you from the field just to stand guard at home after proving how useful you are out here. The Royal Guards must be seeing some serious action soon."

"Do you think-?"

Xisheng's query was cut off by the cacophony of a scuffle erupting behind him. For a moment he had completely forgotten about the potential riot that had been brewing.

Turning on his heel, Xisheng witnessed several Fire Nation soldiers attempting to hold back dozens of angry Water Tribesmen. No one was bending yet, but it seemed likely that the situation was going to escalate from bad to worse.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Xisheng was about to join the fray purely on instinct, but Chikaraishi stopped him a second time. "Hold up Lieutenant. You have a ship back to the capital to catch."

"Right now? Sir, there's about to be a full-blown riot!"

"That's true. But the Fire Lord's orders are to be carried out the moment they are received. We've got more than enough men here to keep things under control. You head back to the shoreline and get going. It's a long trip back as it is."

While Xisheng was incredibly reluctant to leave with an impending fight coming on, he figured that Chikaraishi had a point. It wasn't like the Army would collapse without him there. "If you say so, Captain..."

Still watching the brawl going on in the courtyard, Xisheng began to walk away from the scene, barely hearing the words of the Captain one last time. "Good luck, Lieutenant. I hope the next time we meet, it's at the victory parade."

Finally turning to face the ocean instead of the city, Xisheng mumbled to himself in the mild shock that was coming on due to his rapidly shifting reality.

"You and me both sir..."

----------------------------------------

By the time Xisheng finally set foot on Fire Nation soil again, the irony of his situation had long since grown sour. On the way to the North Pole, he had enjoyed the novelty of riding across the open seas. On the way back to the Fire Nation, he had come to hate it. Even being an individual that was not prone to seasickness, he had grown seriously tired of that ironclad ship plowing through the waves. The ride from the Earth Kingdom's northern coast to the North Pole had been a little more than a week and a half. The ride from the North Pole to the Fire Nation had been almost three. It had been maddening, and so unbelievably droll that Xisheng had lost his nervousness and anticipation for the future for awhile.

He had of course spent most of the ride in solitude, considering his lack of familiarity with the crew. All things considered, he was kind of eager to get back to some sort of unit he would actually be a part of, even if he was nervous to join the Royal Guards. He was even more nervous when he thought about who else he would be around when he did join the unit. He recalled Captain Chikaraishi's words: Fire Lord Ozai wouldn't have pulled an able combatant from the field to stand guard at home unless the Royal Guards wouldn't be home for much longer.

Of course, the Fire Lord certainly wouldn't be going anywhere. But that only left his daughter, Crown Princess Azula. Xisheng didn't know anything more about her than the average Fire Nation citizen, but he had of course heard that she was supposed to be some sort of Firebending prodigy. And while Xisheng didn't doubt those rumors himself, there had been no practical chance for the Princess to exemplify her skills. Going to the front line could be that chance for her, but she was very young. Of course, age was not an indicator of capability, but Xisheng wasn't comfortable with the notion of someone so young going to war. Then again, maybe he was jumping to conclusions. For all he knew, the Crown Princess wouldn't be going anywhere at all, and even if she did, it probably wouldn't be to the actual front line. Besides, he was still a only a few months past seventeen himself. He was hardly a grizzled old man, and he had fought in many heated battles.

Either way, as much as Xisheng would have enjoyed a day or two to relax after so long at sea, he knew as well as any soldier that a delay in following the Fire Lord's orders was unacceptable. He had to report to the palace for induction into the Royal Guards immediately, though he doubted the process would be so simple. Surely a demonstration of his abilities would be in order before he would be allowed to join such an important unit. The only question was who he would be performing for.

The thought of it was nerve-wracking, but on the other hand, it was pleasantly soothing to be back in the capital. The city of Xuchang rested comfortably within the famous Caldera of an ancient volcano. It was not the place of his birth, but he had spent many weeks training here in the capital to be a soldier. He briefly wondered if Sergeant Taizo was still around, terrorizing new recruits, but there was little time for Xisheng to track down his very first mentor. Still, he wondered what the Sergeant would say if he learned that one of the men he had trained was being inducted into the Royal Guards. Chances were he would claim most of the credit, but that was alright. The most important aspects of Firebending had been drilled into Xisheng by that man, after all. He deserved some of the credit at least.

For a brief while, Xisheng managed to turn his attention away from his impending future. Walking through the well-maintained cobblestone streets of the Fire Nation capital served as a strong symbol of what he was fighting for. A model city of white stone and slanted tile roofs, and impeccable waterways and curved bridges that was an example of what the world could achieve. Here, there was no 'poor district.' There were no beggars on the street, trying to survive on the whims of their fellow man. There were no squalid children trying to scrape a living in alleys, no sickly elders walking about in rags, no one clearly suffering from starvation... it was the idea Fire Lord Sozin had wished to spread to the rest of the world, just not yet fully realized.

That said, it was far from a utopia. Of course Xuchang had problems; taxes were higher than normal because the war had to be funded. There was an upper echelon of society that often looked down on the common class. There was a mandated draft for males over sixteen. It was a wartime city, with all of the problems that included, but it was still far beyond the decrepit cities of the Earth Kingdom, where the poor were kicked to the farthest outskirts to suffer in silence.

Of course, one could argue that the only reason Xuchang was in a better state than Ba Sing Se was because the Fire Nation was winning and the Earth Kingdom was not. But any historical expert could tell you that the situation in the Earth Kingdom had been what it was now long before the war started. The symptoms may have been exacerbated now, but the war was not their origin.

Xisheng wondered if anyone in the Earth Kingdom knew how truly terrible their situation was. Were they oblivious to it, because they had experienced it all their lives? Did they think their lives were the way things were supposed to be?

He supposed they did. After all, it was difficult to be aware that there was something wrong with the only life you had ever known. It was why so many people actually changed their tune under Fire Nation dominion. Granted, newer colonies and conquered cities were still resentful and bitter, but older ones like Yu Dao had not only accepted Fire Nation rule, but embraced it. Once the Fire Nation had introduced a better quality of life to them, it was but a matter of time before the people realized their conquerors offered some worthy benefits in exchange for loyalty to their flag.

Of course, it had been well over a decade before Yu Dao came to appreciate the benefits their conquerors brought, but hopefully that city would be the first of many. Unfortunately, Xisheng got the feeling that Ba Sing Se would take much longer to acclimate to the new rule than most of the smaller cities had. If it was ever conquered at all...

Xisheng did his best to weave through pedestrian traffic on his way to the palace, which was easily seen even from his position on the streets. Xuchang was easily the largest city in the Fire Nation, and this fact was mostly amplified for those traveling to the palace because most people that arrived in the city did it from the shore. The palace lied at the center of the city, making it a long walk from the perimeter.

But it gave Xisheng time to relax his nerves as he walked towards the next step in his career. He was nervous of course, but expectant as well. He had never thought he would advance beyond the rank of common soldier, yet here he was, a Lieutenant about to be inducted into the most prestigious and elite unit in the Fire Nation. As far as he knew, the Royal Guards weren't military; they answered only to the Royal Family. Then again, considering that the Fire Lord was the commander in chief, didn't that mean that they technically were military...?

Ultimately, Xisheng shelved that thought to be answered at a later date, and the rest of his journey consisted of a nostalgic enjoyment of Xuchang's sights, sounds, smells, and overall atmosphere. He couldn't even remember the last time you could actually smell spices in the air. And the sound of actual laughter from the surrounding citizens was something Xisheng had not heard in many months.

This being the case, the hour long trip to the palace went by a bit faster than Xisheng had anticipated, and soon enough he was at the gates of the palace, where four of the Royal Guards he could possibly be joining barred his entry. While they all looked the same to Xisheng (uniformity was pretty popular in the military), the one that was supposedly the leader stepped forward to ascertain Xisheng's purpose for being there.

"State your business."

Knowing that his word was as good as nothing at all here, Xisheng handed over the letter Chikaraishi had given to him back at the North Pole. The guard before him perused the entirety of the letter before rolling it up and handing it back to him.

"Welcome to the palace, Lieutenant. You'll be escorted to the proper room."

The guard motioned towards one of his cohorts, who bowed to Xisheng before turning and heading into the palace. Xisheng bowed to the other guards before hurrying after the one that was guiding him. While he focused on following the woman, Xisheng couldn't help but gawk at the architecture and design around him. He had of course never been to the palace before, being nothing more than a common soldier, and the view from a distance really didn't do the place justice.

The outside was flourishing with all sorts of vegetation, with a plethora of trees, bushes, and flowers dominating any open area. The structure of the palace itself was distinctly ornate, with dark red wood accented by flawless gold comprising the majority of the used materials. The interior itself had a distinctly dusky feel to it, being dark but not unwelcoming. It was strange that a place lit with so many torches could have any shadow at all, but Xisheng found the atmosphere kind of homey, if nothing else. At one point he and his guide passed a hall depicting every Fire Lord since Sozin, which Xisheng found strange considering that there had been far more than that. Then again, perhaps this hall was only for the current dynasty, which had begun with Sozin.

Due to his insatiable curiosity in observing his surroundings, Xisheng did not really take note of how he got to the chamber he was lead to. The only indicator that he had arrived was his guide stopping at that particular door. He was ushered in without any delay, at which point Xisheng found himself in a large, open chamber that was clearly designed to house Agni Kais.

The guard that had lead him here bowed before retreating out of the chamber, leaving Xisheng to walk out to the isolated platform that rested in the center of the chamber. It was Xisheng's understanding that this was the place Prince Zuko had undergone his ill-fated Agni Kai. It was kind of foreboding in that respect, though Xisheng doubted he would be facing the Fire Lord.

When a few newcomers did enter the chamber, Xisheng turned to face them with a mix of determination and anxiety, the latter of which was quickly amplified when he noted that the man entering the room was exactly who he had just told himself he would not be facing. The stoic, stalwart face of Fire Lord Ozai peered down at him from the balcony Xisheng had just left, with several Royal Guards flanking him.

OK, calm down. This doesn't mean anything. It's only logical that the Fire Lord would be here for this. The Royal Guards protect both him and his family. He would want to see for himself the prowess of the people he's entrusting such a responsibility to.

Thankfully Xisheng was right, and the Fire Lord sat in an ornate seat separated from the others. It seemed he would be observing this test alone, as the four Royal Guards that had entered the chamber with him descended onto the platform Xisheng currently occupied. As they all took combat stances to face him, Xisheng deducted that he would simply have to prove himself against them. Whether or not that meant actually winning was another question entirely.

There was absolutely zero delay in the start of the combat, as two of his opponents shot forth obvious yet powerful fists of flame to meet him. Xisheng's first instinct was to dodge the raging blast, but he quelled that impulse, choosing instead to block the combined attack with a wall of his own flame. He was being tested as a guard, meaning his role would be to protect. His concern would be the safety of his charge, not himself. That meant blocking attacks that came their way, not avoiding them. While the Fire Lord's face remained completely impassive, Xisheng hoped he was on the mark, and that actual defense was what the stony ruler wanted to see.

That would be easy enough if the enemy continued with straightforward attacks, but it was no surprise when they attacked all at once, and in different patterns. After all, who knew when a Royal Guard would be outnumbered? Two of the guards repeated the initial straightforward attack, but the right most one launched a curving fireball to hit Xisheng from the side while the final guard leaped over the combined inferno with the ever popular flaming axe kick. Xisheng had to think fast if he wanted to handle them all appropriately.

The curved fireball reached him first. Instead of wasting time and energy blocking it, Xisheng chose to divert the flame, briefly commanding it to follow the path of his shoulders and fly harmlessly to the other side of him. Unfortunately, diverting a light attack like that one was easy. Diverting a combined power blast was not, forcing Xisheng to once again rely on a fire wall to protect him. He only had a second after dealing with that attack to nullify the incoming kick from the sky, but since there was no time to attempt a Firebending move of his own, Xisheng simply weathered the blow and blocked it physically, stopping the physical contact but still having the flame wash over him.

His armor protected him from the worst of that, allowing him to shove his attacker away, head over heels through the air. She landed on her feet just fine, however, just in time for the remaining three guards to launch a barrage of fireballs from every conceivable direction they could manage. Still holding fast to the belief that he was supposed to thwart the attacks rather than dodge them, Xisheng quickly calculated the best way to handle this assault.

He would never be able to react in time if he waited for each sphere of flame to reach him. Instead, he began launching fireballs of his own to intercept them. There was only one of him and three of the enemy, so he could not block them all this way, but by nullifying as many attacks as possible before they reached him, he could block most of the rest through defensive walls. It was a technique he had quickly learned on the defensive line in the Earth Kingdom, where being outnumbered by Earthbenders and their numerous projectiles was all too common.

There was no time at all to try and see what the Fire Lord thought of his efforts so far, but Xisheng figured he would have to be offensive at some point. After all, you could protect against attacks all day long, but until the enemy was neutralized the threat would not cease. With this in mind, Xisheng redirected the next fireball to reach him through the barrage of similar attacks to target one of the Firebenders about to throw another one at him. Caught in the middle of a motion, the man was unable to react fast enough to protect himself, getting launched backwards by the impact.

Taking advantage of the now decreased number of attacks he had to fend off for a split second, Xisheng quickly advanced towards the remaining enemies, continuing to counter their attacks as he did so. Unfortunately, the woman who had thrown the axe kick at him earlier now stepped forward to sweep a tendril of flame at his legs, an attack that would easily knock him off balance if it wasn't avoided. Xisheng hopped over it, not wanting to expose himself with a high jump into the air. He even managed to block two more fireballs during the maneuver, but he did not manage to block the followup bolt of flame when the only female guard threw a straight kick at him. The force of the blow sent Xisheng sailing backwards, though he rolled to his feet as soon as he hit the floor and unleashed a torrent of flame back at his trio of attackers, about to be rejoined by the one guard Xisheng had hit earlier.

Just as he had with Iroh, Xisheng took advantage of the blinding flame he had unleashed to close the distance between himself and his group of opponents, a movement they failed to notice whatsoever until their collective Firebending cleared away his inferno. Unfortunately for them, by the time they were able to see Xisheng's new proximity to their position, the potential Royal Guard was close enough to launch two powerful palm strikes at his center foes. The strikes to the chest, amplified by the concussive force of condensed Firebending, sent two of the guards careening off the edge of the Agni Kai platform, essentially removing them from the conflict.

Xisheng did not have long to revel in his small victory however, as his remaining two adversaries began to attack him in close quarters, foregoing Firebending altogether to instead rely on simple martial arts prowess. Firebending utilized a martial form that translated very well to purely physical combat, though it was unusual for it to be used without the associated element. That said, Xisheng himself was quite adept at hand-to-hand combat, because the chaotic battles on the defensive line had often called for a quick reaction to a nearby foe.

Even so, he was outnumbered by two skilled fighters. He managed to block a few strikes on either side of his body, but his opponents were smart enough to alternate their attacks to catch him off guard. Xisheng quickly found one of his legs kicked out from under him, sending him to one knee as he raised both arms to block combined side kicks to his torso. But the force of the dual blow broke his guard, and the follow up straight kick to his chest both knocked the wind out of him and sent him reeling backwards.

Despite the tightness in his chest, Xisheng knew he had to display perseverance and determination to keep fighting. Performing a recovery roll that allowed him to windmill his legs in the direction of his two remaining opponents, Xisheng unleashed two torrents of flame that kept them at bay as he used his motion to return to a fighting stance.

Both he and his adversaries were ready to engage once again, exhaustion be damned, but they were prevented from doing so as the voice of the Fire Lord cut them off with one curt command.

"Enough."

Dropping their stances, the combatants turned to face the Fire Lord, bowing to him. The ruler of their nation said nothing, instead rising to his feet and calmly walking to the door to exit the Agni Kai chamber. Xisheng waited until he was absolutely sure the man was gone before daring to speak his misgivings.

"Is that... good? He didn't say anything, what does that mean?"

Understanding his trepidation, one of the Royal Guards turned to face him. "Don't worry about it. If the Fire Lord were not satisfied with your performance, he definitely would have made it obvious. This means you passed, and it's a well earned passage too, if I do say so myself. Welcome to the Royal Guards, Lieutenant Xisheng."

Xisheng breathed a sigh of relief, his concern over his performance washing away with the news that he had been sufficient. "Great. So... what's next?"

"You'll need to get acquainted with a new uniform, obviously. After that you'll need to be briefed on a series of protocol and rules, not to mention quite a few oaths... but after that it's just rest. We're leaving the Fire Nation first thing tomorrow morning."

The now advanced Firebender shook his head in dismay. "Seriously? I literally just got back..."

"It's rough I know, but the Crown Princess is departing for the Earth Kingdom tomorrow to apprehend the traitor Iroh. She's taking the best fighters in the Royal Guards with her, and after your performance today, that includes you. If you have any other questions, you can ask them once we're out to sea tomorrow."

Xisheng bowed, not at all pleased with the idea of getting back on another ship. "Yes sir."

With a bow back in his direction, the two Royal Guards left on the platform began their descent to ground level to help their fallen comrades. As for Xisheng, he rolled the stiffness out of his shoulders, and went to go figure out where he could get the new uniform with the way more kickass helmet.

----------------------------------------

The next morning, Xisheng found himself hurried at a much more leisurely pace than he had expected. The day before, he had acquired his uniform and been sworn into the service of the Royal Guards, then been told they would be leaving first thing in the morning. Turns out first thing in the morning in the capital was a little different than first thing in the morning on the front lines.

For one, it wasn't the crack of dawn. Xisheng was roused by his fellow guards at roughly eight in the morning, and succinctly told that he had thirty minutes to be at the docks with everyone else. Not wanting to make a bad impression or otherwise do anything foolish on his very first day, Xisheng had wasted no time in donning his new uniform, one that he, to some childish degree, thought looked far cooler than the standard one. He especially loved the far more intimidating helmet and mask, though it was arguably a little more difficult to see out of compared to the standard Army helmet.

Either way, Xisheng had properly equipped himself with everything necessary in just under seven minutes, and it was at that point that he questioned how on earth he and the others would reach the docks in twenty minutes with the distance and the traffic taken into consideration. Turned out that the Royal Guards moved throughout the city with an underground network, something that Xisheng would have thought a myth until he used it himself.

The maze of underground tunnels was home to tracks that utilized wheeled platforms. They were little more than steel squares with benches on them, but either way they allowed eight Royal Guards at a time to move unhindered through the city and at a much faster pace. Xisheng was impressed with the device, if only because only the Fire Nation could have it considering everyone's technological levels. Sure, the Earth Kingdom had that train thing they used in Ba Sing Se, but that was powered through Earthbending, not technology.

Mode of transport aside, Xisheng and his comrades in arms reached the docks with plenty of time to spare, and locating the ship they were to be stationed on was easy; while certainly not the size of the Inferno super battleship from the North Pole, the Royal Barge had plenty of features to give it away, aside from being the size of a Dragon Class Destroyer. The significantly more ornate prow than any standard ship certainly made it obvious as well. It also had its own space at the private docks, with no civilian or military ships within a thousand yards.

The Royal Guard contingent boarded the ship without delay, sweeping the entire craft for anything even mildly threatening, though mostly for threats along the lines of spies and assassins. When that was done, they returned to the deck and formed two lines, simply waiting for the arrival of the Crown Princess. Xisheng wasn't really familiar with all of this protocol, but he simply followed along well enough.

They did not have to wait long for the Princess and her palanquin to be brought aboard. If Xisheng had a way to tell the time, he would have seen that she arrived at exactly nine in the morning. While her notion of 'first thing in the morning' may have been a little askew, she was certainly punctual.

Following the cue of his fellow guards, Xisheng prostrated himself in deference well before the Princess even bothered disembarking from her luxurious means of transportation. Only after they had been in this position for a few moments did she actually emerge from her palanquin, not that Xisheng could see with his face practically in the ground. Considering that no one could see in their positions, the Princess had no choice but to use her voice to command them.

"Rise."

Every one of the Royal Guards did so, turning to face forwards when they did. As for Xisheng, he was struck by how commanding the voice of such a young girl could be. She certainly sounded older than her young age, in tone if nothing else. Then again, she looked a far cry from a typical young teenage girl as well. Sure, she had the height of a budding teenager, but her countenance, her poise, even the near flawlessness of her overall appearance: they all seemed unnatural on someone her age. Even so, she was very pretty. The severity of her expression didn't diminish the pure, piercing amber eyes that only the Royal Family laid claim to. Nor did it degrade the obsidian bangs that framed her features so perfectly.

Descending from the steps her palanquin rested on, the Princess wasted no time in beginning her succinct briefing for their mission.

"General Iroh has disgraced and betrayed the Fire Nation, and brought shame to each and every one of us. My brother may be in league with him, or he may not. One way or another, you will be fighting members of the Royal Family. I understand some of you may have mixed feelings about this; but rest assured, I will not tolerate hesitation. If you cannot strike down Iroh and, potentially, my brother, I'll have no choice but to remove you from the Royal Guards. Permanently. Is that perfectly understood?"

"Yes, Princess!"

Even as Xisheng gave his affirmation along with his new comrades, he was glad for the helmet that hid his face. It allowed him to more or less gawk at this young girl that assumed total command of grown men and women so effortlessly. He had expected her to be stern, but not to threaten her own men. Then again, she was embarking on a mission to apprehend a legendary Firebender and relatively accomplished general. She would need complete dedication and unwavering conviction in the mission from her men, and this was one very effective way of ensuring it. Xisheng attributed her threat to that more than any other potential reason.

Regardless, the contingent of Royal Guards was dismissed after that short and to the point briefing. Strangely enough, there was little for Xisheng to actually do. There was actually very little for any of them to do. Their job was to guard the Princess. And while that was a much larger responsibility than any normal soldier had, it was also a very narrow range of responsibility. As a common soldier there was always something for Xisheng to do: check supplies, relay orders from officers, manage squads he may have been put in charge of, the works. Here he only had one job, and he couldn't very well do it unless the Princess was being attacked or in a compromised situation. Even on his first day, there was a surprising amount of downtime for a Royal Guard...

That being the case, Xisheng spent most of the day familiarizing himself with the ship and getting more familiar with his new comrades. What surprised him the most about the latter was the ratio of male and female guards. While women were certainly nothing new in the Fire Nation military, they were still a minority for the most part. Only about eight percent of enlisted troops were female, and only a moderately higher fifteen percent were officers. This was mostly because most women didn't choose the military life, and because the draft didn't apply to them the same way it did men, because the ratio for the entire population was somewhat askew in favor of males: or at least it had been, before the impact of the war had taken hold on the nation's demographics.

Here though, roughly half of the Royal Guards were women. While some chauvinists in the regular Army disliked the idea of trusting women on the battlefield, here they were respected. And why not? They had all been required to prove themselves. They were all capable fighters, surely.

For Xisheng, the day passed very slowly. Aside from having nothing truly important to do, he was extremely unhappy to be aboard a ship once again, so soon after finishing one voyage. It wasn't until the late afternoon that someone actually brought forth a decent idea. One of the other relatively new Royal Guards, Akuwagata, suggested that he and Xisheng do a little sparring on the deck. He seemed to be as depressed with the boring nature of their first day as well, and since he was no longer the 'rookie' of the group thanks to Xisheng's induction, he wanted to test himself against the new guy. Xisheng had no problem with that, and the two of them found themselves on the deck of the barge rather quickly.

Xisheng thought it strange that they had the entire deck to themselves. He figured that more people would have been up here, enjoying the sea breeze or the vermilion shade of the sun on the waters, but there was no one else present. Everyone was below deck somewhere, or on the bridge. That being the case, at least he and Akuwagata had plenty of space to fight.

Their match was nothing special, though mostly because Akuwagata was nothing special. Xisheng hated to think that since it seemed kind of haughty on his part, but he didn't really see anything too impressive from his sparring partner. The man had raw power, but he didn't have any strategy. His method of fighting was little more than executing various combat forms, and it wasn't difficult to predict or even defend against. Xisheng had to actually hold back to have the match last longer than a few minutes. He supposed a regimented fighter could be useful in certain situations, perhaps against a score of typical combatants, but if it came down to a fight against a skilled warrior, like the traitor they were hunting, such an approach to fighting would be less than useless.

He was too rigid really. He almost fought like an Earthbender, with one set course of action that he didn't know how to deviate from. Still, maybe it was unfair to be so judgmental. In a one on one fight Akuwagata's style wasn't worth much, but coordinated with his comrades he would be much more efficient. Certain styles of fighting did fare better in certain situations, after all.

Xisheng was about to block another straightforward blast when Akuwagata stopped himself short, staring at the bridge of the ship for a second or two before bowing. Easily concluding what the holdup was, Xisheng turned around as well, spotting the Princess descending down the crimson carpet that shrouded the steps to the bridge. He of course wasted no time in bowing as well.

Surprisingly, the Princess seemed to find their actions amusing. Then again, that half sardonic tone she so excelled in exuding made it seem like she found everything amusing. "Please, don't stop on my account. What worth would you have as my guards if you didn't keep your skills sharp?"

Xisheng wasn't sure how to respond to this; she was technically giving them the go ahead to continue practicing, but protocol dictated that engaging in anything even remotely dangerous around the Royal Family was a massive folly. That included training within a hundred feet of the Crown Princess.

Thankfully, Akuwagata voiced this concern. "Your Highness, we will vacate the deck if you desire to occupy it..."

This reply earned a slight frown from the young girl. "Well, I see you weren't chosen for intellectual reasons. What part of 'don't stop on my account' was unclear? In fact, just consider it an order. I won't have my guards grow incompetent because they don't train."

With nothing to really say to that, Akuwagata bowed even further. "Yes, Your Highness."

With no valid way to dissent, Xisheng and Akuwagata returned to their sparring match, though it was much more tense now. Xisheng had his back turned, so he didn't know what the Princess was doing, but what if she were watching them? Judging their abilities? Granted, if he could impress the Fire Lord, Xisheng was reasonably confident he could impress his daughter as well, but that would mean demolishing Akuwagata, something that didn't sit quite right with him.

Thankfully, it became painfully obvious that the Princess wasn't watching them at all when a brief crackling sound heralded a bolt of electricity shooting forth from the deck of the ship. The lance of blue cracked across the amber sky, a strange sight indeed considering the temperate weather, but Xisheng was far too flabbergasted by the feat itself to dwell on its magnificence.

I'd heard rumors that the Royal Family could bend lightning, but I never thought it had much merit to it... does she even need protection when she is capable of such an incredible form of bending? I doubt even that traitor Iroh could counter that...

Briefly lost in thought as he was, Xisheng was caught off guard when a somewhat strained blast of fire came roughly his way. He said roughly because it was actually quite a bit off, so much so that Xisheng could simply stand still to avoid it. Unfortunately, letting the attack pass him was a very bad idea because of who was behind him. Even more unfortunately than that, Xisheng was too unprepared to somehow intercept the blast before it passed him.

He glanced over his shoulder to see the ball of flame hurtling right at the Princess, and he immediately questioned how he was going to die. Thrown overboard? Burnt to a crisp? Hanged? Who knew?

Alarmed as he was, Xisheng barely managed to breathe a sigh of relief when the blast of ill-aimed fire briefly turned an azure blue before dissipating at the hand of the Princess herself. Unfortunately, his relief didn't last long. The expression on the girl's face was calm as ever, but definitely unhappy. Disdainful maybe. Xisheng didn't know, but either way it was bad.

Azula sighed as though she had only been inconvenienced, stroking one of her bangs as she glanced off into the ocean. "Not for intellectual reasons indeed... if I were paranoid, I would almost accuse you of being an assassin of some sort, but no one that actually wanted to kill me would employ such a pathetic attack."

Akuwagata bowed so low his head was almost level with his knees. "M-m-my apologies P-Princess..."

"Oh, I'm sure. But I really don't care much for apologetic drivel. So stand up; you can hardly fight me like that."

There was a brief moment of confusion for the two Royal Guards, once again voiced by Akuwagata. "I-I don't understand, Your H-highness..."

The Princess leveled a disdainful glare at Akuwagata. She seemed to be exceptionally adept at that. "Yes, we've established already that you're lacking in mental acuity. It just seems to me that if you're so eager to train that you can't even control your own Firebending properly, you must need some 'advanced' opposition. Both of you will fight me. Perhaps you will learn something useful before you are destroyed."

Though she gave a relatively solid reason for doing this, Xisheng got the feeling the Princess just wanted to exact some petty revenge for the misstep of her subordinates. One could call her a terrible person for doing such a thing, but hell, she was actually being quite merciful. After all, had she been caught off guard she could have been seriously injured. Akuwagata had messed up, and so had Xisheng to some extent for failing to block the attack before it reached her. The Princess could have done any number of terrible, horrible things to them for endangering her, but she instead chose to simply mop the floor with them in a sparring match. Whether the goal was to just beat them up or humiliate them was a mystery.

Either way, Xisheng knew there was no getting out of this one, so he took a firm stance and prepared for the worst. Behind him, Akuwagata did the same, but he was clearly wavering and far too scared for his own good. The Princess actually seemed to appreciate Xisheng's resolve in facing her, though interpreting her expression was actually pretty difficult. But if there was one thing drilled into every soldier's head during training, it was to stand your ground against a foe no matter how outclassed you were, provided a fight was inevitable. It was a lesson Xisheng had displayed against Iroh. That mentality was exactly what had gotten him noticed in the first place.

The Princess didn't wait even a moment for her far outclassed opponents to be ready, launching thin, spear-like bolts of azure flame at both of them simultaneously. Akuwagata, still fumbling in his stance, attempted to block it but was sent hurtling backwards, while Xisheng decided to dodge the blue flame rather than block it, considering his lack of experience with it. He had no idea how strong this variety of Firebending was compared to the regular kind, but he was willing to bet that the difference was significant.

However, he barely had a second after dodging the first attack before another bolt raced at him, and then a third when he dodged that one. Not only were the Princess' attacks powerful, but they were fast: much faster than any Firebender Xisheng had ever seen. It was all he could do to less than gracefully evade getting shot in the chest by rolling, ducking, and practically dropping to the deck of the ship to avoid getting hit.

By now Akuwagata had returned to his shaky feet, but he did nothing in regards to actually attacking the Princess. His lack of involvement on that front caused him to be almost entirely ignored by the teenager, who continued to harry Xisheng with shots that he was sure were not as strong or fast as they could have been. He got the distinct feeling that she was toying with him, which was no surprise really but still insulting. Xisheng knew he was not the best Firebender: he was certainly not better than the Princess. But he at least believed himself to be a good fighter. No matter who he was facing, he liked to think he at least provided some challenge.

Besides, he noticed that the Princess seemed to be rather disappointed in the whole ordeal, or bored at the very least. Xisheng could at least rectify that. Akuwagata may have been unwilling to attack the Princess, but she had explicitly stated that they were to fight her. Not stand around and get pummeled by her. With that in mind, Xisheng settled on returning fire after his next dodge.

Leaping over the next shot, Xisheng kicked out two wheels of flame, the duo soaring towards his target for but a moment before they were nonchalantly sidestepped. Even so, The Princess almost looked impressed. Almost.

"Bravo, one of you actually did something. I honestly thought you were going to let me shoot at you all day."

While he definitely wasn't going to bet on his interpretation of anything the Princess said, Xisheng felt that she too understood the inherent code of honorable combat for a Firebender: fight for fighting's sake. It didn't matter if you won, as long as you fought your absolute hardest.

With that notion in mind, Xisheng went on the attack, hurling every conceivable move he could at the Princess from his distance. He swept waves of fire at her feet, launched wheels of flame at her torso, curved fireballs from different angles, he even used the somewhat rare sunder technique, launching a wall of flame at the girl that split in two as it traveled. They were all equally useless. Every single one was dodged or simply brought under the Princess' control before she forcefully dispersed them. The powerful sunder technique was simply kicked into nothingness by one swipe of blue flame.

Desperate for some kind of headway, Xisheng tried his somewhat signature technique of blinding the enemy with an inferno before closing the distance. However, he had no time to employ the second half of the technique, as a condensed tendril of blue flame pierced the veil of orange and blasted Xisheng right in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards. The force of the blow was enough to knock the wind out of him and probably bruise his torso, but not pierce his armor.

Without him to power it, Xisheng's own attack faltered and dissipated, revealing the Princess looking no worse for wear than she had before. Still, Xisheng was standing, and not without energy. He wasn't going to stop now. But he had figured by now that he would never match the Princess in Firebending. Considering her unusual bending style, perhaps she was unskilled in hand to hand combat?

Trying to capitalize on that gamble, Xisheng used his Firebending to boost him forward, closing the distance between him and the Princess in but a few seconds. Of course, Xisheng was certain she could have reacted at any time to stop him from getting so close, but she must have been curious as to what his next attack would be.

Indeed, she was surprised to see a regular axe kick coming at her, but surprised or not she nevertheless dodged it. In fact, rather than retaliate at all, she simply avoided everything. Every punch, every kick, every feint, and certainly any other kind of threat her opponent posed. At some point Xisheng tried to crush the shorter girl under a downward elbow strike, but he found the Princess' fingers half an inch from his gut before he could connect, and a controlled yet nevertheless powerful spurt of blue flame smashed into Xisheng's stomach with enough force to keel him over in pain. In a second he was on his knees, struggling to breathe.

The Princess seemed convinced that the match was over, but she found herself rather pleasantly surprised when Xisheng struggled to his feet and took some semblance of a combat stance, though it was suffering from fatigue and pain.

The Princess cocked a curious eyebrow at him. "Are you a sane member of my guards, soldier?"

While he found it hard to speak, Xisheng knew he couldn't leave the Princess unanswered. "I... haven't been incapacitated yet... I can still fight...Your Highness..."

There was a brief moment of silence from the younger girl as she contemplated the man before her that looked no different than any of her other guards. "Is that so? Well in that case, I order you to stand down."

More than a little relieved to hear that, Xisheng dropped his stance, though he refrained from any display that was too unsightly.

"What's your name, soldier?"

Surprised that the Princess had anything else to say to him, Xisheng nevertheless managed a reply. "Lieu...Lieutenant Xisheng, Your Highness."

His response actually earned a small expression of surprise from the Princess. "Really? The same Xisheng that fought against my Uncle at the North Pole?"

"T-the same, Your Highness."

This actually elicited a slight smirk from the girl. "I didn't think you'd actually arrive in the Capital for induction before I left, Lieutenant. Allow me to commend you personally for your efforts to thwart my traitorous Uncle at the North Pole."

Xisheng wasn't sure how rare praise from the Crown Princess was, but based on what he had seen of her so far, he was convinced that it was a once in a blue moon occurrence. "You speak too highly of me, Princess. I only did what was expected of any soldier."

"Oh, it's your duty as a common soldier alright, but I doubt there are many soldiers in our military that would have dueled the Dragon of the West. Furthermore, it's my understanding that you played a significant tactical role in the siege. The Fire Nation needs more soldiers like you, truly."

"I-I'm honored that Your Highness thinks so."

The Princess glanced down at her nails. "As for your combat prowess..."

This was the part Xisheng didn't want to hear. He had been soundly defeated without giving a single scratch in return, after all.

"You're good. Not even close to my level of course, but definitely better than most of the common rabble in our Army. More importantly, you fought me seriously despite knowing you couldn't win. Your awareness of the futility of your efforts didn't stop you from nevertheless fighting your hardest. Truth be told I admire your bravery, though I suppose it could be considered asinine as well."

Xisheng wasn't sure how he felt about that last spiel, since a lot of the compliments seemed kind of backhanded. But they were still compliments, so Xisheng decided to take them for what they were. As for the Princess, she turned on her heel, stalking back towards the bridge where her private quarters were. "Be on the deck by sunrise tomorrow morning, Lieutenant. I prefer to train early."

Left speechless by that order that could have meant any number of things, Xisheng fumbled for some sort of reply. His shock didn't last long though, because the Princess seemed to remember something just before she left the deck.

"Oh, and one more thing."

Quickly turning on her heel, the Princess shot another of her blue lances of flame at Akuwagata, who was still standing on the far end of the ship. The impact was significantly harder than anything she had used in her spar, blasting the poor guard backwards and smashing him against the edge of the deck railing.

"Hesitating to fight members of the Royal Family includes me."

With that, the daughter of the Fire Lord finally made her exit, leaving Xisheng staring after her with a wide array of mixed feelings. He wasn't sure if she was a ruthless individual or simply a girl that knew what she wanted and expected and worked to make it happen. Either way, Xisheng decided to worry about the Princess' intentions in the morning later. Instead, he took a brief moment to futilely rub the soreness out of his torso, then turned and walked back towards Akuwagata to make sure the guy hadn't broken his spine or something.