Azula: the New Avatar

4 - Intrigue

General Iroh was not awakened politely. Of the two troops of soldiers that entered Prince Zuko's boat, one took Zuko to their battleship, and one ended up cowering against a wall in Iroh's bedroom. 

"You are lucky that I recognized your uniforms before they melted to your bones," Iroh said darkly. "If you wish to live, you will never disturb a member of the royal family as we sleep. I should warn you that my nephew is not as disciplined as I am, and will not come to his senses until you are all dead. Do you understand?"

"Yes," squeaked the appointed captain of the squad immediately. "We got it."

"Good. Now, would you mind showing me to my room aboard Azula's ship?"

They all made nervous eye contact before the captain nodded again. "Right this way, sir."

The sight of the singed guards with half-broken, half-melted armor meekly escorting Iroh onto their battleship raised quite the commotion. As quickly and politely as they could, his escorts managed to hand him off to another unlucky group of soldiers in charge of leading Iroh to his quarters.

As they realized where they were supposed to be leading him, Iroh found himself  in the middle of a panicked frenzy of activity as men were moved and arrangements were changed. Anyone who protested getting shoved into a room already occupied by five men was given the option to lead Iroh to his room. They all let themselves get moved.

He chuckled to himself. He had to wonder where they were initially going to stash him, and why everyone was terrified of being present when he found out.

"Ah, Uncle. Welcome aboard my ship," came Azula's voice. All action halted immediately. "I've just finished showing Zuko around the ship and introducing him to his new home. Have you been shown to your rooms yet?"

"Not yet, princess," Iroh said inclining his head respectfully. "For some reason, ever since your men tried to snatch me from my bed, everyone has been too frightened to be productive."

Azula grinned. "My men tried to do that?" she said. "What idiot told them that would be a good idea?"

"We received instruction from the Firelord to ensure their arrival was as abrupt and uncivil as possible," one man said, bowing.

"I'm aware of that, or I would have done something about your treatment of my brother. He may be an exile, but if father didn't expressly command it I wouldn't tolerate you demeaning my family. No matter his status or his actions, his blood makes him worth a thousand of you," Azula said evenly. "Did my father tell you to kill yourselves?"

"He did not, my lady," the sailor said.

"Then he did not tell you to kidnap Iroh from his bed. For future reference, you should avoid waking him up. Of course, none of that will matter if you let him see the way you've treated Zuko. If I had to guess, I'd say that my brother has filled Lu Ten's place in Uncle's heart. I may be the heir to the throne and the most talented firebender to date, but don't expect me to shield you from the Dragon of the West."

Iroh's eyes glinted, somehow malicious and foreboding even though his face remained neutral. "Speaking of my nephew, where is Zuko?" he asked benignly.

"Uh—I'll go fetch him, General," another man volunteered, disappearing down the hall as fast as he could without looking like he was fleeing.

"Get back to your organizing!" Azula snapped at the rest of the crew, who were watching anxiously. "You weren't chosen for this mission so you could gawk." They leapt back into their jobs, studiously focusing on their task in an attempt to be overlooked. Azula rolled her eyes and smirked, then beckoned for Iroh to follow her towards the chambers designated to her.