Zuko felt a bit nervous as he faced Xing again. It was his first proper meeting with him ever since he got yanked up from a private to crown prince to…whatever he was right now.
The boy standing before him was no less genial than before, even after Zuko's…idiotic outburst. It made the unease within him roil further. Being within the privacy of Xing's office (supposedly it's already been heavily downgraded, but there was still a lot of gold, green and yellows everywhere that kept it gaudy) to contrast their current stations in life further rubbed salt in the figurative wound.
"Prince Zuko, thank you for your time."
It was hard not to break the gaze and look elsewhere out of shame. "Uh, I think you can just call me Zuko. You know, considering…"
There was a pause, and then Xing shrugged. "If that's what you prefer."
They exchanged nods, and then another moment of silence settled between them.
"Xing, I'm sorry about-"
The prince of Ba Sing Se, the only real prince between them, waved off the apology. "We've already done that, it's fine, Zuko. Now, let's get through this so you can return to Mai."
Despite his best efforts Zuko felt his cheeks warming up and it took him too much effort to keep his words from pouring out in an incoherent jumble. "Mai is not… I mean, we're not…"
Xing's eyebrow rose. "Not even a date?"
The exiled prince gulped nervously, and then nodded. Mercifully, there was no taunting, no sense of smug superiority from Xing.
"I suppose it'd be hard to find the right time, considering the situation…"
His head bobbed as he grabbed onto that lifeline. "Y-Yeah."
"Well, I'll give you recommendations later; for now, I have to ask: what are your plans?"
The sudden steel in Xing's voice was startling, and Zuko blinked in confusion. "Huh?"
For better or worse, the young lord of Ba Sing Se did not mince his words. "Like your sister, you've fled the islands. However, where she has naturally found a place by my side, there is no station that would suit your rank here, pri- Zuko."
A knot started to form in Zuko's guts as Xing inclined his head. "I have discussed it with Azula; you would be better served being seen with as little attachment to Ba Sing Se as possible."
"Wha- What do you mean?"
"Well, do you really want to stay here, after everything is said and done?"
Did he? Zuko paused, even his growing apprehension froze.
"Someone has to go back to reclaim the islands," Xing added, almost mischievously, causing the other boy to snap out of his thoughts and stare with wide eyes.
"Huh? But what about Azula?"
Xing shrugged. "Like I said, we discussed it. Not exactly a done deal, of course, but…there is a clear opportunity for you to seize what was denied to you before. A…better way to prove yourself, if not to your father, then to yourself and everyone else."
And so the next day Zuko ended up bowing deeply to Xing and Azula at the massive hole in Ba Sing Se's walls, and exchanged a rather awkward farewell with Mai (it did not help that his sister was giving them a weird look).
He passed on the tank they offered and settled for an ostrich horse instead; easier to keep fed and he didn't have to figure out driving the metal contraption.
The journey was rather…calming for Zuko. He no longer dressed as a prince, but as a soldier in the style of the 11th; their brigandine armor and chainmailed helmet, with a couple of spears hanging off the saddle and a belt-load of daggers around his waist. He was alone, but with a purpose that kept the spectres of his guilt and shame away. Uncle Iroh and his comforting presence was not with him, but neither was the crutch that was his support.
Zuko was going to have to earn his place by himself, as he once desperately wanted to in his hunt for the Avatar.
Well, not exactly by himself.
He found the banners coming up the main road as Xing had said they would. A whole army marched in good order, one that had sided with Xing and Azula almost immediately after news broke out of the rebellion. As if it had been planned for already.
Zuko ignored the scouts that would no doubt have spotted him and rode up to its leaders with as much regal confidence that he could muster. To his surprise, the whole column actually came to a halt. Spearmen and benders fell to one knee while mounted officers and cavalry bowed deeply. The air rang out as they all saluted hand in fist.
"The Armies of the South and East are honored to welcome Prince Zuko!"
Zuko nearly fell off his mount then. He'd almost forgotten what it felt like to receive such open respect, if not for his person, then his station. It was not the pride he had dreamt of receiving from his father, but it was something rawer that still sent his heart soaring nonetheless. People who actually were regarding him as a prince, not an exile, not a failure.
It was…nice.
"Prince Zuko," a man in an intricate but clearly battleworn suit of armor with a general's cloak and helmet crest greeted from atop his armored ostrich horse. Beside him was a woman similarly suited, while behind them rode a gaggle of commanders. "It's good to see you at last."
Zuko managed a nod, not quite hiding his sudden nervousness at the men and women assembled before him. "General Sho. General Hwa. I'm glad to have finally caught up with you."
Sho was rather blunt in his proclamation. "When news came from the capital, it was clear that the Fire Lord had either lost his mind or allowed the weaklings in his court to affect his decisions."
His counterpart, Hwa wore a withering frown directed at nothing in particular. "It's his words against the deeds of his brother and children… It was clear enough who deserved our support."
Deserved. The generals of two armies chose to follow who they deemed was deserving of their loyalty, rather than simply following the orders given to them by their superiors. It was a rather damning proof of how little they respected their Fire Lord.
How much of it was because of Xing's relations to General Sho, and how much was due to the failed campaigns Zuko's father had overseen? The debacle of the North Pole, the first push for Omashu and its later liberation...
In comparison, Uncle Iroh still held everyone's respect as a general and even-headed royal, while Azula's improvements in the colonies were significant and obvious. And as skeptical as Zuko was of Xing's claim, supposedly his own years wasted in exile had garnered some respect from various parties.
"You chased after the Avatar on your father's orders, everyone knows that. Everyone knows too how impossible the task seemed, and yet you kept at it. That's something the common rank and file could sympathize with…once we remind them again of that fact."
Did Zuko like that his father was being painted as being petty, unreasonable, and unhinged? No, it was honestly still heartbreaking and still a bit of a struggle to fully grasp. But he could not deny them as facts, especially being on the receiving end of a good chunk of it.
Sho's words snapped him out of his little stream of thoughts. "Would you honor us by taking the lead, my prince?"
Zuko was quick to shake his head. "No, general. You and your officers are familiar with the ways of war, while I am still inexperienced in command. You two should remain at the head of this force. If the opportunity arises, point me at the enemy and I will do my part."
"As you say, my prince."
At the edges of his vision, Zuko saw how the soldiers who heard the exchange were nodding with approval. The lines he'd been rehearsing had done their part as his sister had said they would, and now he rode after Sho and Hwa to join their convoy as their royal figurehead. Zuko would be a glorified mascot, if not for the fact that he would have the chance to prove himself when battle came.
*****
Mozi sighed with some resignation as he stared at the map of the Earth Continent. The streams of refugees had brought news that helpfully revealed the progress of the Fire Nation armies. As expected, they faced several smaller armies that were spread across the colonies.
Interestingly, Princess Azula's evacuation order had been taken up rather enthusiastically by the colonists, who gladly tore up their homes before fleeing. It showed with how little progress most of the armies made. Not a few had barely left their landing sites, being forced to wait until they could establish a supply point. Most others were making their advances along the major roads, based on news given from loyal colonial patrols. The few colonies that had been captured intact were making the most progress, but even that was relative.
That was mostly thanks to stubborn rearguard actions by the colonial guards to buy the refugees time to escape. Whole garrisons willingly sacrificed their lives for their neighbors and friends to make it to Ba Sing Se, with many being personally led by the nobles and officials Princess Azula rescued from the home islands.
Judging by the progress made across the continent, they were doing a damned fine job in bogging the enemy down.
Loyalty begets loyalty, and Mozi quietly thanked their selflessness every now and then, especially when he was looking at the map or discussing logistics.
Both Xing and the princess had made that particular news public, making heroes out of the brave men and women, be they firebender or earthbender, native or colonist, who stood before the armies of the home islands. It helped that Princess Azula was genuinely affronted by the fact that her father's madness has forced the expenditure of lives.
"This should be a matter handled personally, between me and my father, or at least me and my prince, against him and his cronies," she had told an overpacked square in the Middle Ring. "It should not have come to this, where your children, your spouses, your parents, have to die on our behalf. But it has come to this, yet me and my prince are doing our utmost to ensure that it does not spiral into another long and wasteful war." Her outrage was infectious, enough that the Ba Sing Se citizenry watching from their rooftops and balconies were also infected and chanting her name at the end of her speech.
"We are deciding on our options," Xing had declared. "Thus far, King Bumi of Omashu has graciously given our cause a chance and extended the offer of peace." That the crazy king was here was still kept secret for now. As Mozi understood it, Xing wanted King Bumi's presence to only be announced once his army of volunteers made it to the city. The Mad King had promised the services of five thousand earthbenders.
Mozi seriously believed that that was five thousand too many. One Mad King and one spirit-guided Xing was all they really needed when the time came, but the gesture was still appreciated.
"The Northern Water Tribe too has agreed to exclude us from their grudge against the Fire Nation. They also are willing to seek peaceful relations with Ba Sing Se."
That it was a peace bought by Xing's unbelievable feat against Zhao was kept hidden for now. It was agreed that such information and other dirt of the Fire Nation would be released only much later, and only once Prince Iroh and the Avatar agreed to Xing's plans.
It was no simple decision to establish an independent state, after all. Especially for those not familiar with Xing.
For now though, Xing had to secure his influence on the city, which involved the 11th serving as middlemen of sorts between the city garrison under Generals Yiu and Sung, and the various colonial troops that poured in.
Which meant Xing had promoted Mozi to Ba Sing Se's first high general to grant him the authority needed to accomplish the unenviable task of integrating the various groups into a united, cohesive force. At least the job was made easier with the Earth Kingdom generals affirming their loyalty to Xing in public, and denouncing their former colleague's treachery.
Could they be fully trusted? Mozi and the other officers of the 11th would've preferred keeping hostages to be sure, but Princess Azula had deployed her administrative staff as 'insurance' instead.
The leadership of the 11th had been initially skeptical about whether experts at Fire Nation intrigue would translate well over here, but seeing the spate of resignations and retirements of the more reluctant supporters barely a week later, it was decided that the regiment would keep out of the way of those polite and soft-spoken servants of the princess.
They delivered the near-impossible proof of a captain under General Yiu being…intimate with ostrich horses. You do not mess with people that could not only recite word for word what the man said to the beasts as he rutted with them, but also produced his whole feather-infested and ostrich horse-scented wardrobe as evidence.
That and other less scandalous dalliances created openings that were filled with officers who were less resistant to Xing's rule, if not outright more approving of it. Officially, it was all a very fortuitous turn of events. Unofficially, even Yama was minding his manners around Princess Azula.
It went without saying that the Avatar and his friends were oblivious to all of this, of course. They were insulated from the ugliness that occurred in the shadows of politics, mostly so that they could remain focused on their own goals.
The Avatar continued his training with Prince Iroh, with King Bumi chipping in as well. Supposedly the lessons were more than just firebending now. The young warrior Sokka trained under Ren, while his sister Katara honed her waterbending with Kilin.
Toph of the well-known and well-connected Beifong family worked with Yama's earthbenders and interestingly, was the only one whose training Xing directly intervened in. Last Mozi heard, the girl was being put through a series of tests to overcome her biggest weakness.
Apparently she compensated for her blindness by having a highly attuned sense of picking up vibrations from the earth, and only the earth. Xing had her spending time in a metal box, which greatly dulled that sense, and forced her to workshop a way around that weakness.
Time would tell if anything came out of it, but that wasn't Mozi's concern for now.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked Xing in the war room, as they stared at the latest updates to the Fire Lord's armies.
"Not exactly, but a message needs to be delivered." Xing pointed at the four invasion armies clustered together not too far west of the city. Those were the forces that had the easiest time landing in the colonies, and as such were far closer to Ba Sing Se than their peers. According to the latest reports, they also were converging, though who would have command of such a force was still unknown. "Besides, if we hit them now, while their reinforcements are too far away, we take off that many men and resources from the board."
He spoke as if knocking off a force of twenty thousand was an easy feat, but then again the Mad King was here, so…
Prince Iroh was the one to raise a counterargument. "But bear in mind that many of us will not be in the city, considering the news from the east."
Xing didn't seem worried at all. "Kuei is blinkered, not stupid. His puppetmasters too. If they want to muster a coalition force to take Ba Sing Se, they'll need way more time reaching out to allies and vassals. It'd take much longer to muster such a force. If they send an army now, it won't be enough to take the walls… Right, King Bumi?"
The Mad King actually looked thoughtful throughout the whole meeting, and nodded slowly. "Hm… Yes. Those lords there are still vying with each other for influence. King Kuei is being hosted by Lord Shiku, who's not exactly the top dog in those parts. If he wants to keep the king with him, he'll have to maneuver himself into a position that puts him in charge of his betters. I know three dukes, one high admiral, and two princes that'll not be happy having to bow their heads to a mere provincial lord."
"Any chance they might try to fight over Kuei?"
"Nah, not yet. Too many cons that go with the pros. Having him gives them prestige, but also turns them into a target. And none of their lands are as unassailable as Ba Sing Se. The former vassals of Ba Sing Se are used to peace and having the fighting be far away, I'm sure they'd prefer things to remain that way for as long as possible. They'll likely wait until Ba Sing Se is recaptured before negotiating for honors, or at worst swoop in to rescue King Kuei if Shiku gets invaded. More prestige that way."
"Another bunch of cowards," Princess Azula hissed, earning a shrug from the Mad King.
"In this case, cowardice is to our advantage," Xing said, absently placing a calming hand on her arm as he addressed the war room's attendees. "So until our good friend Je-Choi brings us news of actual mobilization, our borders with the…Earth Kingdom in exile are secure enough."
"You sure you don't want me to go down there and secure it some more?" King Bumi asked cheekily.
Xing's reply mirrored the light mischief. "You sure you want to be occupied for the rest of your life trying to beat the lords there into submission? Instead of being part of a whole lot of fighting?"
"Point. Pretend I didn't offer such a blatantly stupid thing."
"I already forgot what you offered." Xing gave a wry smile before turning back to the map again. "Anyway, we have the chance, so we'll take it while that chance is still steaming fresh. Any other questions?"
Mozi raised a hand. "Is it really that important that you and the princess take part in this excursion?" That one probably rankled the new high general the most, even more than working with the barely integrated forces of Ba Sing Se. "It's a great risk, I'd argue an unnecessary one."
"It is," Xing admitted with a shrug, "but as I said, a message needs to be delivered. Ozai's supporters, and especially those under them, need to know what they're in for."
"But Princess Az-"
"I know the risks," said princess cut in with a slightly imposing glare. "If Xing's going, then so am I. Might as well make the message clear."
Once more Xing shrugged. "I tried. But my fiance's as hard to convince out of a fight as I am."
Mozi could only sigh.
"At least you know what kind of a difficult brat you've been," Kai said beside him through a grin.
"Look on the bright side," the young prince offered with an amused smirk, "at least it's only Azula joining me."
"How's that better?" Prince Iroh helpfully took the bait and asked.
"Lady Su-Wei's still angry that she had to give up her island to flee here. She could be following us to have a severe word with the enemy."
Ah, right. Not even Ren and Ping in their most vengeful would subject anyone to that widow's wrath.
"I suppose I'll begin mobilization," Mozi relented as he ignored Prince Iroh's appalled grimace.
"Good." Xing gave King Bumi and Prince Iroh a final glance. "Avatar Aang and his friends have been informed as to why their intervention is not required?"
Both king and prince nodded. "We've made the reasonings of it clear," Prince Iroh answered. "The Avatar still wishes the fighting could be averted, but he understands also that he is not capable enough to provide any solutions."
"Well, as long as he's aware of his shortcomings," Princess Azula remarked as she raised an eyebrow at Xing. "Are you sure you don't want me to tutor him?"
"He should be made aware of the hidden wheels of politics," he blandly replied, "not be scared away from it."
With no further topics of note, the meeting was ended, and Mozi began the migraine-inducing chore of organizing an army. As he left, he saw Xing leading Prince Iroh and King Bumi down the hallway to the gardens.
Mozi lost good money when news later came of Prince Iroh being carried over to the healers after suffering a moment of weakness. He should've known that the Mad King would not have been affected at all. But still, it looked like the private meeting with the dragons went well enough.
It was a pity their introductions to the enemy in a few days' time would be nowhere near as pleasant.