Avatar: The Flames of Kaiya

The morning held an uneasy stillness. Pale light spread across the garrison's courtyard, illuminating the orderly rows of spear racks and the neat, if nervous, patrols along the perimeter. Soldiers stood a fraction too stiff, their silence heavy, as though wary of stirring old ghosts from a distant horizon. Near the center of the courtyard knelt a lone figure. He remained very still, head bowed, knees pressed into hard-packed earth. The tension around him, though invisible, was felt by each guard who dared glance his way. They knew his dread without needing to see his face.

Azula entered with measured steps, shoulders set, her boots stirring faint whorls of ash. Kaiya walked beside her, chin lifted, her robe brushing clean lines into the dusty ground. Neither hurried. The air held a brittle hush, as if even the wind bowed its head in their presence. Soldiers lowered their gazes, hands tightening around spears, boots clinking dully on hardened dirt.

The lieutenant knelt in silence until the princess approached. His voice quavered, dry from days of tension and too little water.

"Princess, we owe you everything. Without you, the rebel force would have destroyed us. I—I could not form a proper defense in time. You saved this town."

Azula paused. Her eyes traveled over him: his trembling shoulders, the dust in his hair, the sweat tracing uneven lines down the back of his neck. She spoke quietly, yet each word fell like an iron weight.

"Saved this town?" Her tone carried no warmth. "If you had done your duty, I would not have needed to intervene. It was Kaiya who uncovered the earthbenders hidden among you. Without her, who knows what devious plots they would have enacted."

The lieutenant's head dipped lower. He dared only a brief, sidelong glimpse at Kaiya. She remained poised, face calm, though her gaze suggested a mind already turned toward distant horizons. There was a refined elegance in the way she stood, shoulders set, hands resting lightly at her sides.

Azula shifted her attention to the empty watchtowers and barricades that had offered so little protection. She spoke again, her voice even, as if settling a small matter of administration:

"Your failure has made something clear. Kaiya's abilities exceed the limits of this pitiful posting. She will no longer waste her time here. She is to be transferred—immediately—to Ba Sing Se, where she will ensure the city's loyalty to the Fire Nation."

Kaiya's eyes widened at the princess's words. Though no tremor touched her voice, a subtle brightness entered it as she responded.

"Your confidence in me is... appreciated, Master. I shall do my utmost to ensure the Fire Lord's will is carried forth."

A sudden rasp escaped the lieutenant's throat. Surprise and desperation twisted his voice.

"Ba Sing Se? But that post was meant for me! I was to command the forces there. You cannot simply hand it over—"

He halted as if struck. Silence pressed in. A sparrow-hawk cried somewhere beyond the walls, and the lieutenant's breath caught. Azula stepped nearer, and he seemed to shrink beneath her presence.

"You?" The single word carried a quiet blade. "You could barely hold this colony without my intervention, yet you believe yourself fit to oversee the greatest city in the Earth Kingdom?"

His cheeks flushed a deep, guilty red. He offered no more protests. He merely bowed and waited to be dismissed. Azula allowed a moment to pass, then turned her focus once again toward Kaiya.

"Kaiya has proven her loyalty and resourcefulness. I trust her, and no one else, with Ba Sing Se."

The lieutenant slipped away, head bowed, footsteps fading until only dust motes drifted where he had knelt. Azula and Kaiya stood alone in the quiet. The princess studied her protégé, eyes narrowed with calculation. Kaiya responded with a measured tilt of her head, voice gentle, though it carried the crispness of polished steel.

"Master, I must ask: did you truly mean all you said, or was it merely to humble that unfortunate officer?"

Azula's lips curved, an expression devoid of warmth, yet confident in its certainty.

"I meant every word. Your talents are wasted here, Kaiya. I have matters to attend—strategies to consider, events on the horizon that you need not concern yourself with. I need you in Ba Sing Se, where you will serve the Fire Lord's will."

Kaiya allowed a soft breath to pass her lips, as if weighing delicate porcelain in her hands.

"Very well, Master. I accept this honor. However, I will conduct my affairs in my own manner. I understand what the Fire Lord requires. I shall not need guidance from afar."

Azula's eyes narrowed slightly, curiosity flickering, yet her voice lost none of its edge.

"Your own manner?"

Kaiya inclined her head. There was a quiet certainty about her, as though the city's immense walls and countless inhabitants already lay within her grasp.

"I believe, Master, that the particulars need not trouble you. You have trusted me. Allow that trust to stand."

A silence passed, and then Azula turned away, a single nod granting the point.

"So be it. I will arrange your departure at once."

By late afternoon, a Fire Nation carriage stood at the edge of the settlement. The wheels bore still-fresh mud on their rims, and the lacquered doors reflected the western light. Rina and Lina stood before Kaiya, their hands tightened near their waists. The air smelled of horse hair and distant cookfires.

"You'll need us in Ba Sing Se," said Rina, voice low.

"We've stood at your side through everything. Please, don't leave us behind," added Lina.

Kaiya took a moment, letting the warmth of their loyalty stir something quiet and almost gentle within her. She reached out, fingertips light on their shoulders.

"You have both served me with unwavering devotion, not only as protectors, but as trusted confidants. I value all you have done. Yet what awaits me in Ba Sing Se will differ from anything we have undertaken here. I must rely upon myself alone."

A hush settled between them. Lina's throat worked as though words might come, but they did not. Rina's eyes shone with unspoken concern.

"At least... write to us," said Rina, voice nearly a whisper.

"I shall," said Kaiya, inclining her head. There was kindness in her tone, but also a measured distance, as if she already stood on a wall overlooking distant battlements.

Moments later, the carriage door closed behind her. Wheels turned, stirring the dust, and her figure vanished beyond the timber gate. Azula watched from afar without expression, the colony's rough-hewn streets and warm dust falling away as Kaiya traveled toward Ba Sing Se, a city that would soon know her will as distinctly as the distant mountains knew the shape of the evening wind.