Chapter 60

"Aaah. Now this is paradise."

Zuko wanted to disagree with Uncle. He was in a furiously surly mood, and as a result half-wanted everything around him to be awful just so that he'd have more things to complain about. Yet even he had to admit, somewhere deep in the back of his mind where it'd never be spoken out loud, that this was the best massage he'd ever had in his life.

His family had employed the services of some of the finest masseuses back when he was a kid, but after years in exile, and more recently weeks being stranded at sea on a raft, his muscles had never been more sore.

The skilled hands of the woman working on his back now eased knots in his muscles that'd been there for so long that he'd forgotten what life had been like without them, and each spike and subsequent release of pressure sent waves of pleasure up his spine.

It was impressive how Uncle had been able to charm their way into the spa. They'd washed up on the nearby beach with no money and nothing but the torn rags of their clothing, yet with just a smile, politeness and a touch of flirting, Uncle had been able to charm the owner into letting them stay on promise of future payment.

Though whether that payment would ever come or not, Zuko did not know.

He had nothing left. No ship, no crew, no money; the only item he'd had on him during his quick escape from the north was the knife Uncle had once given him as a present, and he was unwilling to sell that except in the more dire of circumstances. Now more than ever he needed the inscription upon it.

Never give up without a fight.

The Avatar was still out there somewhere. Chances were that he'd made his way to the Earth Kingdom in search of a new master by now. If he could just capture him, everything he'd lost could still be restored. His father would let him come home and grant him an audience, and he could explain why he'd done what he'd done back at the North Pole.

He wasn't a traitor: he just wasn't willing to execute children or risk damaging the natural order of the world for victory. Father would understand and forgive him. He had to.

Of course Zuko still had to capture The Avatar first, with nothing but his own skill and the knife in his pocket. That wasn't going to be easy.

"Relax." The masseuse admonished gently, feeling him instinctively start to tense. "You are one very serious young man."

"My nephew has a lot on his mind." Uncle answered for him.

"That so? There's a festival in town tomorrow. Maybe you should go, help take your mind off things."

"Well, I do love a good festival." Uncle replied jovially. "What's the occasion?"

"It's in celebration of Admiral Tanya's victory." The masseuse answered. "There's talk about making it a national holiday. Hey, relax will you!"

Zuko ignored the reprimand. That was another big problem. Tanya was the nation's golden girl right now, and it was obvious that she was going to do everything in her power to make his life a misery from now on.

Father had always been fond of her, and would have no reason to deny audiences with her now that she was a part of his war council.

Who knew what she might convince him to do? For all he knew she might be plotting her revenge right now, scheming new methods to take what little he had left away from him.

...

"For the last time captain, no. There's nothing I can do. Now stop complaining and get back to work."

"But admiral, please! She said she was going to throw me overboard!"

Tanya let out a quiet sigh and forced back the urge to massage her temples. The captain was by no means an unintelligent man, and had done a decent job of running his ship so far, but decent just didn't cut it for Princess Azula. She demanded absolute obedience from the crew, and as close to perfection at all times as was humanly possible.

Tanya didn't blame her: she herself paid great attention to her subordinates' training so that she could be assured they would act perfectly when the time required it. Azula's fault, however, was in demanding perfection in everything, every second of every day. It was stressing the crew out.

This left Tanya in an unenviable position. As the princess of the nation and appointed commander of this mission, Azula's word was law. She could also be quite intimidating when she wanted to be, and suffered no complaints, which made the crew very uncomfortable about approaching her with questions or problems.

Tanya however had a clear rank within the military hierarchy and experience commanding a ship, and as Azula's subordinate in this mission had taken it upon herself to handle the day-to-day running of the vessel in her stead.

That meant that whenever anybody had an issue with Azula's orders they immediately came to Tanya about it, hoping that she could persuade the perfectionist princess to cut them some slack.

"She ordered me to ignore the tides and pull into port immediately!" The captain continued incredulously. "In shallow waters the bottom of the hull could be torn apart by rocks if we aren't careful!"

"Then we'd better be careful then. An order is an order." Tanya shot back. "I appreciate the risks involved, captain, but we're out to capture prisoners of extremely high political importance.

Any time we waste is time that they may use to slip away. I recommend you stop wasting time complaining to me, and start making the necessary preparations. Dismissed."

The captain looked like he was sucking a lemon, but struck a curt salute and sulkily marched off. The moment he was out of sight Tanya let out a deeper sigh, then stood up and strode down the corridors towards the royal quarters.

It was stressful being the lightning vein for Azula's strict management style, but Tanya would endure it if it meant taking a little pressure off her friend's shoulders. If Azula was threatening to throw the captain into the ocean for complaining then she was obviously a lot more on edge than she appeared to be.

To look at the calm, confident expression she wore as she strutted around the ship like she owned the place, you would never guess that she was wracked with guilt inside at the thought of imprisoning her own brother.

Once she arrived at Azula's room, Tanya rapped on the door and waited for the call to enter. Once it came, she pushed the door open and took care to shut it behind her. "Your highness." She greeted neutrally.

Azula was reclining in a large, comfortable armchair, examining her nails as she filed them into sharp points. A cattish smirk crossed her lips as she looked over to Tanya. "What's the situation?"

"We should be arriving within the hour." Tanya reported dutifully. "The rank-and-file soldiers are prepared and ready to depart as soon as we hit shore and block all exits out of the spa, and the elite team are all set to escort us in apprehending Zuko and Iroh.

I've also had word sent to all nearby outposts and villages to stay alert for an old man and a teenager with a large burn over one eye, just in case."

"How very thorough." Azula replied disinterestedly, her eyes returning to her nails. "Your military precision does you credit. Though I do wonder if perhaps it's unnecessary in this situation?"

Tany raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"Zuzu is naive, and woefully desperate. Why drag them onboard when we can get them to walk here willingly?" Azula blew on her nails and placed the file back on her dresser, making a show of being satisfied with her work.

"I'll tell Zuko that father has changed his mind and has ended his banishment, and that I'm here to take him home. He'll be so desperate to get his old life back that he won't ask questions, and Uncle will follow him wherever he goes."

Tanya resisted the urge to smile. Azula thought she was playing it cool, but she could see through her. If Zuko came aboard willingly there would be no need to fight him, which meant less chance of him being hurt by an overzealous soldier.

That girl really was too considerate when it came to her big brother. Still, as the more seasoned commander of the two, it was her job to make sure that the more violent contingency plans were prepared just in case.

"A wise plan. It would be preferable to end this without a conflict if possible. Still I hope you don't mind if I have the soldiers take position around the spa anyway, just in case."

Azula pursed her lips unhappily, doubtless worried by the thought of putting her family at any risk of harm, but eventually waved her hand dismissively. "Very well, I suppose it can't hurt. However take care that your men don't arouse suspicion.

In fact you yourself had better stay hidden on the ship until we're far enough out at sea to prevent them from escaping. After what happened at the North Pole, I doubt even Zuko will believe that my intentions are peaceful if he sees you with me."

Yes, that did seem prudent. Tanya nodded in approval. "As you say. Very well, I'll circulate the new plan around the crew."

"Wonderful." Azula shot her a thin smirk. "I don't know how I ever managed without you, Tanya. Keep this up and I may have to keep you in my service forever."

Tanya chuckled in response and let a bright little smile cross her face. Even if Azula was just flattering her, it was nice to be appreciated.

Maybe she could have applied for the post of Azula's royal guard if Ozai hadn't already earmarked her for his new air marshal position? Spending nice lazy days lounging around the palace with Azula sounded like an eternal holiday.

"We'll have to see if your father will let me once we return home successfully. Best of luck with the mission, Azula."

With that she turned and left, completely missing the stormy expression on Azula's face. The moment the door was closed, Azula's scowl grew even more thunderous.

"Little upstart." She hissed to herself, glaring at the door as if blaming it for not collapsing atop her rival. Tanya had gotten too big for her boots ever since father had dangled the prize of being his right hand woman in front of her.

Even though Azula was one in charge around here, it hadn't stopped Tanya from taking it upon herself to talk with the crew and order them around, as if she was the boss and Azula just some VIP that needed escorting.

Yet it also occurred to Azula that, should Uncle see through her deception and convince Zuko to try and flee, it would be Tanya who took all the credit for working out the logistics of the trap that caught them. That would all but assure her receiving father's promotion.

Perhaps a little sabotage was in order? Just to make sure that, in case things didn't go Azula's way, they wouldn't go Tanya's way either.

...

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