Chapter 9

"Dinner!" Li Ming announced to the training yard before hurrying back to the mess hall to help prepare against the coming invasion. The wave of hungry, dead-eyed recruits shambled in, with small groups of exhausted but otherwise still lively veterans mixed within. Li Ming and her colleagues served them with equal efficiency, handing over trays of rice and meat and greens.

It was only slightly later, while everyone was in the midst of gorging themselves, did the colonel appear. Xing took the meal as everyone else, sitting with a group of veterans. From what she understood, all this was different enough to be a bit scandalous to the upper classes. Officers were, according to Chiya and the others, supposed to eat at their own separate tables with their own separate meals.

Even cranky Yama agreed that it was the same in the Earth Kingdom.

The officers of the 11th were simply carrying over their habits from campaigning though. As far as Li Ming knew, it was a habit set by Colonel Lidai due to supply shortages. Anyone in the 11th, be they spearmen or colonel or camp staff…or even prisoners, shared the same limited menu. There was only a short period when that changed, but then again little good came during Shiluo's short reign.

Li Ming looked at the table of grizzled soldiers offering advice to their greener comrades. The newbies in another table were meekly nodding along as they were caught between Captain Kai's and Captain Ren's discussion. Probably about Xing again. Then she looked at the colonel's table, where he ate in silence, but wore a noticeable smile as the enlisted men and women around him conversed and joked.

A sense of melancholy seeped into her, dragging with it the memories of the past.

Li Ming tensed as she remembered the leering faces of her abusers, a bunch of Fire Nation garrison guards. She remembered the barracks door exploding open, almost literally.

"And what the fuck is going on here?" an armored giant growled softly, causing the rapists to flinch back.

"W-We were just…just interrogating a…rebel, sir. She was…she was-"

Another figure stepped into view, an equally scarily armored woman with a face locked into a fiery scowl. "Save it, fuckwits. Leave. Now."

Li Ming wanted to curl up when she felt the two figures' gazes fall on her. For a moment, when the giant of a man approached, she thought that he had simply wanted to keep her to himself. Then a dagger appeared, and before her fears could evolve her arms fell free from the bedpost.

"Can you walk?" the woman asked, far gentler than she'd expected. Li Ming gave a scared nod before rising up to her feet. The man draped a heavy cloak around her, and Li Ming was escorted out of the guards' barracks and introduced to a man far too old to be in such heavy warplate. Despite the imposing image, the old man radiated warmth and reassurance.

"I'm sorry for what you had to go through," he said in a voice too warm and kind for a Fire Nation butcher. "I'll have Lieutenant Ren escort you back to your family. You have my word that those…men will trouble you no more."

When she told them she had no family to return to, the old man's eyes softened with sorrow before he offered her a place with them. "It's a bit of rough traveling, but you'll be paid, and I can assure you that no harm will come to you."

They did not ask her whether she was really a rebel or an Earth Kingdom saboteur. Even now, none of the 11th cared that Li Ming was a former Earth Kingdom villager. The moment she accepted, she was treated like every other camp follower. They trusted her with their laundry at first, and then later their meals. The strange young boy who called himself Xing would notice her worry when she began serving in the kitchen, and try to alleviate it with jokes and feigning food poisoning from 'evil Earth Kingdom ingredients'.

Li Ming missed his bright smile. Colonel Lidai's passing dealt a blow to the boy that dimmed it, but Shiluo's cursed actions all but smothered the youthful joy in Xing.

She remembered sobbing with the others and desperately closing her eyes and ears as the crack of the whip filled the air that night. She remembered the shouting, the beginnings of violence, and the arrival of Colonel Dao.

She remembered the day before the battle, where Xing brought her into the prisoner's tent just as he was about to let them loose. "You'll be safe with them," the boy had assured her with a brittle smile. "If you encounter the Earth Kingdom, you can say we forced you to work for us."

He left with camp guards and followers, ignoring the shouts of Shiluo's people. Li Ming remembered the shock she felt back then, followed quickly by a deep outrage.

How dare he leave her here. After her time with the 11th, was she not a part of them? Did she not earn the right to join them? Even in an impossible attempt to-

A rattle shook Li Ming out of her thoughts, and she saw Xing looking at her curiously, with a bowl in hand. "All good, Li Ming?"

She banished the bad memories with a shake of her head. "Yeah. Yes colonel. Here, I'll get you topped up." She took the empty bowl and packed the rice in tightly, making sure the growing boy ate his fill. "Here you go, sir. I've made sure not to poison it."

Xing replied with a lopsided smile. "Thanks, Li Ming."

As she watched the colonel return to his seat, another voice drew Li Ming's attention. "Everything alright?" Mozi stood just to the side, his sharp face furrowed a little in a frown.

Li Ming knew better than to try deflecting too blatantly. "I was just…thinking."

He raised an eyebrow in concern. "Old times?"

"Yeah," she replied with a slow nod. "Old times. Bad times."

Mozi reached out and Li Ming gladly took his proffered hand and squeezed it tightly. "Things will be fine," he reassured her, and Li Ming gladly believed it.

She gave the lieutenant colonel a grateful smile. "You're done with your meal?" At Mozi's nod, Li Ming managed a smirk, then led him out the mess hall's side doors. Nobody that noticed made a scene out of it, and the new kitchen crew needed to learn how to work with reduced manpower anyway.

*****​

As the regiment's quartermaster and having gone through battle after battle with improvised equipment and desperate scrounging, Hyung was glad to be spending so much time going through the new gear and supplies allotted to the 11th Regiment.

Piyi and his crew could now rely on new anvils instead of the pitted, warped metal chunks. The chefs now had actual cooking knives and utensils, instead of resorting to combat blades and sharpened sticks. And after the last two grueling years, Hyung and his fellows swapped out civilian or Earth Kingdom footwear for proper regulation ones. The civvy ones donated by well meaning colonists were too thin and tore easily, while the Earth Kingdom ones (from their non-benders, of course) were noticeably heavy enough that it affected marching.

Royal decree also ensured that any request was met, no matter how outlandish it might seem. Colonel Xing of course took advantage of that by ordering in new heavy coats for everyone and crates of small metal plates. It was up to Hyung and some vets he volunteered to rivet the plates into the coats. It might be a bit improvised, but this new 'brigandine' armor promised far more protection than regulation armor.

Hyung should know; the primitive versions Xing had convinced him to cobble together held up all the way to Tai Plains. It was heavier overall, but the balance between protection and freedom of movement was far better compared to the stiff cuirass the conventional infantry had to deal with. If the colonel didn't have to worry about the dragon-mooseshit that was court politics, the armor design would likely have proliferated throughout the Fire Nation military by now.

Orders for new helmets trickled in as well, intimidating things with chainmail woven underneath the nasal guards to protect the lower face and neck. Again, heavier, but the protection from stray rocks getting stuck in cheeks and throats was very well worth it in Hyung's experienced opinion.

Besides, that's what the training's for. If the newbies can't handle a little weight, how would they handle earthbenders throwing boulders at them?

It was good that the colonel wanted everyone to wear the kit, firebender or otherwise. With no visible differentiation between them, the Earth Kingdom might find it hard to react appropriately. Plus, the quartermaster had to admit that seeing everyone in the same intimidating gear would be damned impressive. Spirits, even just going through the list of a spearman's equipment made Hyung grin.

Brigandine armor with shoulder, wrist and shin guards, a good pair of boots, a mailed helmet, one short sword on the belt, one chisel-dagger also on the belt, another chisel-dagger hidden under footwraps, no less than two herbal pouches, and finally whatever their primary weapon was.

Of course, many of the veterans opted for carrying more daggers on them. As hardy as the weapons were, no doubt they'd be blunted after breaking through several earthbender walls. Which was why Hyung was glad the 11th would have cartfuls of spare weapons traveling with them.

Beyond the basic necessities, the colonel had materials for his various 'secret weapons' pouring in. Normally, Hyung would be pissed as all fuck to have to figure out how to safely store fragile clay pots, unwieldy leather fabrics, alchemical ingredients, and odd-shaped metal objects. But the young colonel's little projects had always proven very spectacular, enough that it reduced the annoyance to a necessary inconvenience.

Hyung looked forward to seeing the newbies' reactions when those toys eventually came out to play.

*****​

It might have been a mistake signing up as the colonel's bodyguard, Bofang thought not for the first time as he fended off the sudden ambush in the mess hall. Lieutenant Koshi was taking this a bit too seriously, secretly conscripting various troopers to harass the inductees at random points of the day. To be fair, Bofang and his mates were also allowed to select their own eager gang to do the same to the lieutenant.

They were jumped right after training, during their break, right after mealtime… Always when at their most vulnerable and/or spent. As annoying as it was, Bofang could see the point of it. Koshi was still flagellating himself over his perceived weakness, and vowed to make sure he and anyone who guarded the beloved colonel would not suffer a repeat of that disgrace.

Which was also why they practiced fighting indoors, in pitch darkness.

While outnumbered.

Without firebending.

With fucking live steel.

And Koshi only accepted non-grievous incapacitation, to allow for interrogation of future assassins.

It was insane, even for the standards of the battle-tested veterans, but by the end of it all Bofang had to begrudgingly admit that the methods had made him much more aware and much more responsive than before. It only took three weeks of unpredictable ambushes to get them up to that level, where Bofang now could pick up on minute details in his surroundings.

Like how, whenever the prince and princess visited, their royal escorts were becoming more and more complacent. They might not be slouching, but their relaxed postures meant that it would take more precious seconds before they could focus their chi into flames, or react to sudden threats. The royal escorts were becoming more like curious spectators than actual guards.

Or the interesting dynamics between the two royal siblings. It was not Bofang's business, but Princess Azula was visibly dominant and almost outright hostile towards her elder brother, whereas Prince Zuko was apprehensive of his sister's attention, but was trying to smoothen their relations. Bofang wished the prince all the best, but really, it wasn't his business.

Something more relevant was the way the princess interacted with the colonel. She was dismissive at times, even antagonistic one might say. But her insults carried no heat and her occasional bouts of…frustration was not something to worry about. Bofang recognized the confused rage she expressed, and let the colonel handle it.

Bofang was a bodyguard after all, and his duties did not include handling teenage infatuation. Maybe unless the princess suddenly decided to tie Xing down to a bed…

Another interesting observation was the amount of letters Bofang and the other bodyguards had to deal with. Colonel Xing's sudden rise to colonel also saw a sudden flood of letters from nobles and merchants. He'd given them the permission and task to go through them and figure out which were worth his time, which might be threats, which warranted an immediate response, and which could be ignored.

A lot of the mail for the colonel fell into the latter category. According to Lieutenant Koshi, most of the nobles trying to gain the colonel's attention were inconsequential and wastes of time. Bofang quickly learned how to pick out grovelling essays and torch them in under three seconds before moving onto the next, hopefully more important letter. Whether it be an appeal to take on some scion into the regiment, or a 'dinner' to meet with some noble's daughter, or even a delusional request by some fresh graduate from the academy, the bodyguards dutifully purged the waste of good paper from the colonel's desk.

Thankfully there were no threats, overt or otherwise, to worry about, but a considerable amount of merchants were keen on joining the princess' bandwagon to offer some sort of sponsorship. Some crazy merchant wanted to show the superiority of Fire Nation kai-lan over Earth Kingdom cabbages by guaranteeing supply of the greens to the 11th throughout the regiment's campaigning. Something about using the 11th's victories as proof of cabbages' inferiority...somehow.

The colonel actually visited that merchant in person to politely reject the offer.

It made sense. After years in Earth Kingdom territory, most of the vets in the 11th grew accustomed to cabbages.

Bofang also learned that some invitations were best responded to, particularly from the higher nobility and influential guild leaders. Enviably, Lieutenant Koshi was the only one that the colonel requested to follow along on those visits, leaving Bofang and his colleagues with the arduous task of sifting through letters…whenever they weren't busy being ambushed.