A wave of suffocating pressure descended in the training grounds as the Fire Lord entered the training grounds.
In an instant, everyone went down to their knees as we saluted the newly coronated Fire Lord.
A moment of pause lingered in the tense atmosphere before Fire Lord Ozai broke the silence.
"Explain yourselves. Why am I seeing a foreign child fighting my daughter? Winning, nonetheless?"
His gaze shifts around before landing on me. An invisible presence pressed down on my shoulders, locking my body in place. My head remained bowed, eyes on the ground with sweat gathering and sliding slowly down my jaw as I struggled to form words to explain the complex and political situation at hand—
"It was me."
My head whipped towards the voice. Azula was down on one knee, kneeling towards her father with her head lowered in respect as she explained with a steady voice. "I was the one who initiated the spar. I was curious about such a young staff member working amongst Lord and Madam Beifong's inner fold, and I wished to test his Fire Bending skills."
"And during the spar, I was caught off-guard by his..." She paused for a split second before continuing. "... Unorthodox approach."
I rolled my eyes at that.
Listening to his daughter calmly claim responsibility for the incident, Fire Lord Ozai shifted his gaze toward the far edges of the chamber. "Confirm."
From the shadows, two figures stepped forward. Royal Guards I hadn't even noticed made their presence known to the group of people present. They dropped to one knee instantly.
"It is as Princess Azula, Your Majesty," One of them answered the Fire Lord's question.
A slight flick of Ozai's fingers sent them back into the shadows.
Silence returned.
"This matter is concluded," The Fire Lord declared after a disappointed huff.
"Princess Azula," he continued with a certain glare. "You will remember where you stand."
"... Yes, Father."
"And you—"
His gaze returned to me one last time.
"... will remember where you stand."
My head lowered immediately.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
============================================
The silence stretched all the way until we returned to our assigned quarters.
The moment the doors closed behind us—I turned and addressed the elephant in the room.
"Ahem... My fist caught fire by Princess Azula's Fire Bending." I said with the straightest expression that I could form at a moment's notice.
From a distance, I could hear Toph face-palming. The attendants took it as a sign of worry, with them quickly moving to soothe her worries by pampering the child as usual.
Watching Lord Beifong's eyebrow rise while Madam Beifong turned her head to the side, I could see that it was working. So, encouraged by the result, I pressed on. I doubled down.
"You see, Princess Azula caught me in a bind with her exceptional combat skills. I had to break the stalemate to bring glory and honor to the Beifong family, so I had to take a gamble." I continued, nodding to myself as if the explanation made perfect sense. "So, when she fired a breath of fire towards my body, I did the only thing that I could do."
"Uh, I ran into the fire. As a non-bender." I wouldn't admit that I had the decency to look embarrassed at the impossible action. I coughed lightly into my fist. "And my hand caught on fire just in time for everyone to barge into the training hall."
As I completed my explanation, Lord Beifong had dragged a palm on his face while Madam Beifong was covering her mouth, her body shaking from clear signs of worry.
As expected, my ability to tell lies is impeccable as always.
It took the adults a good five minutes to calm down, Lord Beifong taking a step forward and placing an arm on my shoulder.
"Regardless of your—understandable and reasonable—explanation, believe it when I say that… You are a trusted servant of the Beifong family. Not to mention that you are also an honorary member of the Flying Boars—I, along with others, will stand on your behalf."
He smiled. "And that's not coupled with how much Toph likes you. I'm far more concerned about what she would do if I were to dismiss you—for reasons entirely unrelated to today's events, of course."
Huh. That's actually nice. I gave a small, thankful nod, letting the sincerity of his words sink in.
... But I still wanted to go home. Staying in the palace tonight was shaping up to be a nightmare. Princess Azula's actions, combined with my apparent transgression that Fire Lord Ozai implied in defeating her during the spar, made me wonder what sort of trouble might find me once the hallways were empty and the shadows remained.
Who knew what might happen while everyone slept? Ugh, I want to go back to the Earth Kingdom.
============================================
NEXT UPDATE: 24 April, Friday
============================================
Please consider supporting me on my Patre0n where I post chapters in advance and new story ideas not on any websites yet.
Your support, even if it's only for a month or even a whole year, helps me dedicate more effort and resources to writing more of my work!
patre0n.c0m/damaine_n
(change the zero to "o")
Advanced Mastery Tier - 3 Advanced Chapters and more (Fully Implemented!)
Ultimate One Tier - 5 Advanced Chapters and much, much more(Fully Implemented!)
============================================