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

Chapter 47

Chapter 47

It was late afternoon, and the sun would go down shortly. Izara was strolling through the Palace, ready to report in at the end of her shift. The guards all greeted her as she went, which felt odd. They all had a lot of respect for her, and though she did understand why, she didn't exactly feel like being bowed to every time someone new came into her eyeline was too fun. She momentarily felt sorry for Zuko since he would deal with that all day, every day.

Since she was back, she had apparently been the hottest topic of the Palace. Everyone had been talking about her, how they knew her, and every experience they had with her. Some of them bragged about training with her, being lucky enough to survive an encounter with her since it was just in training. According to Katara and Suki, Sokka had been one of the loudest with his bragging.

She was lost in thought as she continued towards Guozhi's office and considered Zuko's suggestion that she become Head of Intelligence. With Zuko's nudges, she had partly begun to heal from the part of her life that she'd lost to develop the skills that had assisted her in escaping the Supremacist's camp. Most of her emotional release was a sense of loss of her childhood, and although she wouldn't change anything, she was at least happy that everything she'd gone through had brought her here, to the Palace.

Although having a position like that would give her a good amount of control over things in the Fire Nation as a whole, depending on how big Zuko hoped the network would be, she just didn't want to deal with that. Having something smaller would be more her style. It wasn't that she couldn't do the job, or wasn't good enough for something like that. Her abilities would be best used in training a small team of highly skilled operatives who could be placed anywhere to provide their specific skills or consult on certain missions. Her team could be assigned to the Palace guard as usual. It could rotate through to ensure that there was one rostered on at all times to ensure vigilance that would make Izara feel more comfortable about taking a break, leaving the Palace, or even just sleeping. It would be a great upskill for some of the guards who had the potential to specialise in what knowledge and skills Izara could pass on. Kazan was a fantastic example, and would definitely be her first pick. Ming would also be someone to consider, as her hand-to-hand skills were phenomenal. Chan was another good choice and would be a great sabotage specialist as he was great at figuring out how things worked.

All that thought aside, Izara just wanted to protect Zuko.

Even before their relationship changed, Zuko had become very important to her, and she wanted to see him build the Fire Nation he envisioned. Izara was grateful to be part of it, and even more appreciative that he'd taken the few minutes to talk to her when they'd first met. Whatever he had seen in her to prompt him to invite her to work in the Palace had paid off.

A messenger called out to her, pulling her from her thoughts. She turned and began walking towards them. They told her that the Fire Lord wanted to see her as soon as she was able. Izara thanked the messenger and headed back towards the palace doors. Usually, Zuko didn't summon her unless it was something he needed her for, so she quickly made her way through the halls and to his office.

Wen wasn't there, so she knocked her usual knock so he would know it was her. She waited until she heard him tell her to come in and bowed to him once she stood before his desk. He didn't look up from his papers momentarily, so she spoke to ensure her presence was known.

"My Lord. You sent for me?" Her tone and expression were businesslike, but that didn't last long.

His golden eyes locked onto hers as he lifted his head. Rather than replying, he stared at her momentarily before rising from his chair. He circled to the opposite side of the desk. She turned to follow him, ending up with her back to the desk, noticing the cheeky glint in his eye.