Where There Is Smoke, There Is Fire [Avatar: The Last Airbender Fanfic]

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

When Izara reported for her shift, she was handed a note asking her to see the Fire Lord at 1pm the next day. Of course, she would arrive at 12.45pm promptly, in her formal guard's outfit and be ready for anything. Maybe it was just to discuss their next training session or her progress since she'd started. She'd been here for about 6 months now. As she walked to her post, she smiled as she remembered the last time she saw the Fire Lord, when they had noodles the previous week. She had since been back to the restaurant after the first time he'd taken her there, tried a few different dishes, and was impressed by them. No wonder it was popular with the Fire Lord himself.

He always felt terrible when busy and couldn't schedule training sessions with her. However, she ensured that she worked hard on her own so that he was impressed with her progress every time they trained. Kazan had been helping her out, and she had worked with Ming a few times as well, and although her bending was excellent, she wasn't as aggressive in her offence as Izara was. Ming was very technical and graceful, but Izara subconsciously focused on the technique's efficacy in using it for either attack or defence. This probably came from previous experience learning how to get a good hit in quickly or die. Since she was in the same training group as Zhang, they had worked together a few times. Izara, Mika, Kaina, Ming, Zhang and even Luan had a chance to train together twice. It was great as they could simulate fighting against several opponents.

After her uneventful shift, she reported just when the sun began to rise. Since she needed to be up around midday to have time to prepare for the formal visit, she bathed quickly and went straight to bed. She woke up briefly when Mika left for her shift, but Kaina had the day off and must have been sleeping. Finally, when Kaina got up later, it was around 10am, and Izara let herself doze for another hour or so. Although she didn't reasonably need to get up yet, she was too nervous that she would oversleep and miss her meeting, so she got up and dressed for the day. She put on her uniform underclothes and went to get something to eat.

Ling was there, and they chatted happily while she filled her tray with the fantastic dishes available. She was there a bit earlier than usual, which was nice as they hadn't seen each other for a while. Izara had made a habit of asking about Ling's family, which consisted of a husband three years her senior and two children who were both young adults. Her daughter, the oldest child, was studying to become a doctor, and her youngest, a son, was working for one of the giant manufacturing plants in the Fire Nation. She supposed that she shouldn't be surprised, considering that Ling was one of the head chefs in the palace and a much brighter woman that some people would take her for. It seemed she was happiest helping others, even though some wouldn't see it as a full use of her talents and intelligence. Every little thing was perfectly organised when Ling worked, showing her skill. Every time Izara thanked her, a beaming smile took over her face, making her feel like Ling was happy. After all the times she had fed her and brightened her day, especially when unsure or worried, she wanted to be sure that she paid her back for her kindness.

Once she'd eaten, returned her tray and thanked Ling, she headed towards the Fire Lord's office for her official meeting. She had met him plenty of times before but had seen him more outside his office than anything else, so she wasn't sure what this was about.

Wen was in her usual spot, and she greeted her with a polite bow and mentioned her name, but Wen had a brief knowing smile that said she knew exactly who she was. After she told her to sit down, Wen continued with paperwork and whatever her role entailed. Izara couldn't hear what was being said. Still, another meeting was clearly going on inside the Fire Lord's office, and she waited patiently, sitting quietly.

Around fifteen minutes later, the door to the office opened, and two officials she had never seen before exited. The Fire Lord was in his formal robes and held the door open, smiling professionally until he saw her. His smile changed and showed in his eyes as they became more vibrant. She stood and bowed but didn't move from her spot, unsure if he was ready for her. He gestured towards the office with a nod, and she nodded once in understanding before following him.