Ozai's Secret

Chapter 2

It's been one year since I spied on the Fire Lord for the first time. I am now a legal member of an elite team: the Fire Lord's personal guards.
Luckily for me, you don't have to be a bender to qualify. As the only "non-bender" and female on the team (it's the fire nation what did you expect), I've worked my ass off honing my skills; I've studied blades, knives, swords, and human anatomy. Not to brag, but I can best any fire bender in a fight. I mean... is it cheating if I'm using my blood bending to feel their every movement? No. No it is not. They are fire nation, and I could kill them with a simple snap of my fingers... but this is way more fun.

There are five of us in total, each tasked with a specific job. There's a weapons master, trained in constructing and maintaining our weapons. An engineer; he specialises in utilising fire bending in machinery. A war strategist. The name says everything. And a warrior, the Muscle. The biggest asshole. All of us are trained in combat, but he and I were tied as the best...until I beat his ass that one time. Sure, he's a big guy, but that means he's slow. And loud. By the time he realised what had happened, he was already upside-down, face first in the ground. He's still really salty about that.
From that day on, I earned some respect from the other guys, but that's all I could realistically get. I stay away from them, they stay away from me. It makes sense since my position requires me to be away for long periods of time.

I'm an informant. My job is to gather intel from the other nations to try and have an advantage and keep the fire nation in power. Since I mainly work alone, I have no relationship with the others. I really don't care, they're all assholes. And I don't trust them anyway.

Yet, even though we are entrusted to protect and serve him, we rarely talk face to face; only in written messages, signed and branded by the Fire Lord himself, with instructions to burn them immediately after reading them. This is to ensure secrecy; no one else outside his guard force knows about us.

Most recently, I was sent to Ba Sing Se to gather information on the state of the city. When I returned, Azula and her team were sent off to intercept the Avatar, but instead, plans are being made to finally take it over. The child works fast.

As of now, my duties outside of the palace are done, so I have some time for myself. Walking down these halls, which I've finally learned to navigate, I let my mind wander.

Despite being a water-bender, this job isn't that bad. The uniform is refreshingly not red-themed, just a simple black leather hooded jacket with pockets; easy to blend in, and it's perfect for hiding knives in plain sight. All members, though, should always be wearing a special concealed badge if not in uniform inside the palace.

I haven't really had to kill anyone (not that I couldn't) but my job is to basically be unseen and learn as much as I can about the other nations. I don't really have strong opinions on the fire nation's actions, but I'm not opposed to the Avatar finally bringing peace. Since I spend a lot of time living amongst the other nations, I'd rather stay impartial for as long as I can. If that's even possible.

Just then, my teammates marched this way and I physically cringed as the muscle guy spoke to me. Idiot.

"Hey uh, Miku right? Didn't you hear? Of course you didn't. Typical. The Fire Lord is requesting an urgent meeting with us immediately." One of them sneered. I never remember their names (or faces), there's no point anyway.

I joined their ranks and followed.

An in-person meeting? What could possibly be this important? I have a weird feeling about this.

The doors to the war room opened and we were immediately greeted by the colossal wall of fire. It's much... hotter in person. Ugh. Instantly, beads of sweat began to form on my temples.