Chapter 25: Masks and Motives
The walk from the ship to the central command quarter was quiet at first. Sergeant Rin walked a few steps ahead, arms behind his back, posture like iron. He didn't need to speak. He had nothing to say. Princess Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai followed, their boots tapping against the dock's charred stone.
Even in its partially ruined state, the Fire Nation base stood tall, crimson banners still fluttering, signal horns mounted atop scaffolding, ash-blackened tiles now glinting beneath fresh water poured over them.
Rin kept his eyes forward. He'd dealt with Azula before. Briefly. Once. It was more than enough.
But before they could reach the base of the path leading up the central cliffside…
"Sergeant Rin!" a voice called.
He turned.
Ensign Lee, moving briskly in his dark, pressed uniform, came to a clean stop beside them. His scholar's face was calm as ever, not a hair out of place despite the midday heat.
"The prince requests your presence elsewhere, Sergeant," Lee said, voice clear and formal. "He has asked that I escort the Princess and her companions to their quarters in your stead."
Rin blinked once.
He wasn't one for visible emotion but the flicker of relief, expertly buried beneath years of discipline, almost cracked through.
He bowed to Azula with flawless precision. "My apologies, Princess. I trust the ensign will meet your standards."
Azula nodded faintly, that unreadable smile hovering on her lips. "I'm sure he will."
Rin turned and left immediately, boots vanishing into the controlled chaos of the rebuilding camp.
Lee gestured up the walkway. "If you'll follow me, Your Highness. Your quarters are prepared in the officer's ridge compound… overlooking the port."
Azula didn't move immediately.
She observed Lee with a slow glance. Calculated. Quiet. Measuring.
Then she gestured to Ty Lee and Mai with a flick of her wrist. "Let's go."
They had only gone a few steps up the path when another figure emerged from the commotion near the supply tents.
"Hmph. Lee," Hinaro called, crossing her arms as she approached from the side. Her usual scowl rested on her face like it belonged there. "I was looking for you."
Lee turned to her with a straight back, never once missing a beat. "Then walk with me. I've been reassigned to escort the princess."
Hinaro frowned, glancing between the three strangers she hadn't seen before. "What princess?"
Without slowing his pace, Lee gestured respectfully. "Princess Azula, younger sister to Prince Zuko. Daughter of Fire Lord Ozai."
Hinaro's posture shifted instantly. Her frown softened, and her arms uncrossed with a sudden, practiced grace. She dipped her head, not too low, not too shallow.
"My apologies, Princess," she said smoothly. "I've spent most of my life posted abroad, rarely within the Capital's inner court. I didn't recognize you."
Her voice was respectful, her tone polished but the edges were too clean. Too precise.
Azula noticed.
Of course she did.
She'd built a lifetime recognizing false submission.
But she didn't call it out.
Instead, she smiled with that delicate, venom-laced composure that made generals sweat.
"No need to apologize," Azula said lightly. "It's not your fault you weren't born into better company."
Ty Lee giggled. Mai exhaled slowly through her nose. Lee smiled awkwardly, missing entirely the subtle knife behind Azula's words.
Lee then turned, as if remembering protocol, and motioned to the two women beside the princess.
"This is Ty Lee, daughter of one of the Fire Nation's noble clans. And Mai, daughter of General Shinu of the Inner Guard."
Hinaro bowed to them as well. "An honor. I've… heard of your families."
Ty Lee bowed in return, smiling brightly. "We've never met before, right? I'm usually really good with faces."
"Never," Hinaro said smoothly. "But I've read of you."
Another lie. Another clean delivery.
Mai gave the smallest nod, her eyes drifting lazily toward Hinaro's boots and back again.
She'd read her in seconds. All mask. All teeth. The girl was clearly a trained liar.
Interesting.
Azula turned her gaze back to Lee. "This woman works under you?"
Lee nodded. "Hinaro. My wife."
The air shifted.
Just slightly.
Ty Lee's eyes widened. "Wife?!"
Mai's brow twitched.
Azula's gaze narrowed, not with offense but curiosity.
"Married already?" she asked, the tone velvet-soft. "My, you move quickly."
Lee, entirely missing the sarcasm, nodded matter-of-factly. "The marriage was recently suggested as part of the Prince's directive on subordinates having something to care for. As well as legacy being an important aspect. Consolidation of influence. Political harmony through strategic unions. Hinaro was selected for me by circumstance and geography."
Azula's smile stretched slowly.
"How… charming."
"Congratulations," Ty Lee offered sincerely.
"Condolences," Mai added, voice flat.
As they reached the crest of the hill, the central harbor lay spread out below them a broken puzzle slowly being reassembled.
Smoke still drifted faintly from the eastern quadrant where the battle had been fiercest. Fire Nation engineers bent over damaged cranes and scorched carts. Troops ferried supplies in wheelbarrows. Burned wood was stacked near firepits. Civilian workers and soldiers alike moved in anxious, coordinated disorder.
The docks though functional, looked like they'd barely survived a siege.
Azula stopped, hands on her hips.
She took it all in.
The chaos.
The disrepair.
The sheer disorder of it.
And standing at the top of it all, her brother.
Zuko.
She blinked once, masking her thoughts.
Replacing Rin with this boy? she thought coldly. Has he completely lost his mind?
The Ensign was bright, clearly but far too academic. Naïve. Obvious. Easy to read and even easier to bend if you knew where to press.
She'd known men like Lee. They cracked under pressure, or worse, became idealists.
Both were fatal.
Azula turned, hiding her distaste behind a pleasant smirk.
"Well then. I do hope the rooms come with windows," she said. "Watching this mess might be the most entertainment we'll get."
The slope curved up the final bend toward the Officer's Ridge, a collection of newly reconstructed quarters nestled in a sandstone cliff overlooking the bay. The path here was freshly swept, though the scent of smoke still clung to the wooden overhangs. The windows bore fresh hinges; the doors were dark lacquered pine, well-maintained, albeit hastily repurposed to house nobility.
Ensign Lee walked two paces ahead, posture ramrod straight, arms behind his back as he led Azula and her companions toward the final door at the end of the corridor.
"This is the best suite available," he explained, tone matter-of-fact. "It belonged to a general quartermaster before the siege began. You'll find private wash access, personal armory storage, and fresh linens."
Azula said nothing as the door was unlocked and pushed open. Her gaze swept the room in one smooth motion, eyes scanning every corner with surgical precision.
Ty Lee peeked inside. "Oh! This is actually kinda cute."
Mai walked past her, poking the tatami mat with her boot. "Bit too... polished. Like they're trying to distract us from something."
Behind them, Hinaro leaned toward Lee as he closed the door behind the Princess.
"I came looking for you," she said in a tone quieter than before.
Lee turned to her, brows raised.
"Why?"
She gave a light shrug, arms crossing again in her usual defiance. "The sudden ship. I was wondering what you knew about it. Thought you said supply ships weren't expected for another week."
Lee didn't even blink.
"The ship is from Prince Zuko's southern fleet," he explained in his usual scholarly calm. "After the Prince's urgent request, a dispatch was sent ahead of the main fleet. Admiral Kuvak, citing Prince Zuko's royal authority, deployed a resupply vessel immediately. It's carrying provisions, replacement equipment, and… Princess Azula."
Hinaro nodded, hiding her frown behind a neutral tilt of her head. "Of course. Just a coincidence she was the one sent."
Lee, ever oblivious to subtext, responded plainly. "The timing was logistically sound. The fleet was caught in a severe storm north of here and required repairs. Rather than delay aid, a single ship was sent ahead. Her Highness insisted on being aboard."
"I'm sure she did," Hinaro muttered under her breath.
Lee glanced at her. "Was that sarcasm?"
"No," she lied, poorly.
"Then we are aligned in understanding," Lee replied, completely misreading the tone.
She sighed. "Never mind. I'm going to grab something to eat."
He nodded. "I will return to the Prince and report that the Princess and her attendants have been accommodated."
"Of course you will," she said, and walked off in the opposite direction.
Inside the suite, the atmosphere shifted now that the doors were closed. The silence hummed with calculation.
Azula peeled off her gloves first, setting them neatly by the table. Then her cloak. Then she turned and examined the space fully.
The windows gave an excellent view of the port and more importantly, of the command paths leading up the eastern cliffs. She could see the repair teams scrambling like ants. Smoke curled from a half-collapsed tower. Soldiers ran drills on uneven terrain. The harbor was still barely holding together.
Perfect.
She turned to face Ty Lee and Mai.
"Zuko's more hurt than he's letting on," Azula said. "His fight with General Fong wasn't a victory. It was survival. He's walking around with cracked ribs and probably half-healed burns, and he's still pretending to be in control."
Ty Lee leaned against the wall. "He looked really beat up."
Mai sat by the window, arms folded. "That doesn't make him weak. You know how he gets when he's desperate. Last time…"
She trailed off, but the message hung in the air like smoke from a fresh fire.
Azula's eyes narrowed. "Yes. Last time."
Ty Lee glanced between them. "I mean… you did try to outmaneuver him. And it kinda backfired."
Azula didn't flinch, but her voice thinned like a thread pulled too tight.
"I remember."
She walked to the center of the room and placed her hands on the small strategy table, already stocked with parchment and Fire Nation cartography. Her reflection glinted on its polished surface.
"Zhao was executed. His failure gave Zuko leverage he should never have had. I underestimated how deep he'd planned. I won't do that again."
Mai raised an eyebrow. "You think it's different this time?"
Azula smirked. "It is."
Ty Lee tilted her head. "Why?"
Azula didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she turned toward the window again. Her fingers folded gently in front of her as she stared out at the half-broken harbor.
This time, she thought, I already have my hand around his throat… He just doesn't know it yet.
She wouldn't say it aloud. Not to Ty Lee. Not to Mai. But it was there. A slow-burn secret weapon wrapped in silken lies and whispered promises.
She would let Zuko think she was playing fair. Let him think the past was behind them. Let him lie beside her again, unguarded, smug, predictable.
And when he finally showed his neck…
Azula's gaze sharpened.
"I have a secret advantage," she said aloud, finally. "Something he's not prepared for."
Mai leaned her head against the wall, unconvinced. "And we're just supposed to follow you into this again?"
Azula turned toward them, her expression composed and terrifyingly calm.
"I don't expect you to follow. I expect you to obey."
Ty Lee looked at Mai.
Mai sighed.
"You know I hate when you make that face."
Azula smiled.
"Then we're agreed. First things first…"
She lifted one finger, pointing down toward the harbor.
"Zuko's trust is stretched too thin. That ensign he's so fond of? Lee. He's green. Young. Idealistic. Utterly out of his depth."
"And his wife?" Ty Lee asked.
Azula's smile curved further.
"She's the wrong kind of liar. Pretending to be harmless. But I can see it. Sooner or later, she'll slip."
Mai tapped a small throwing knife against her boot.
"So what's the play?"
Azula's eyes gleamed.
"We exploit their weaknesses. Isolate their loyalties. Sew doubt. Create chaos where there was once unity."
She sat at the edge of the table, elegant and still.
"And then… we take everything."
***
Far to the north of Nan-Hai, just beyond the range of the recent storm, a small naval repair base nestled along the spine of a jagged coastal inlet. The sea here was calmer now, the winds tapering after days of relentless gale. The docks were alive with firebenders, engineers, and shipwrights moving in tight coordination beneath rising scaffolds and re-strung signal lines.
A dozen warships, black-hulled and crimson sat tethered offshore. The rest of the 25th Naval Division, all twenty-five ships and over five thousand men, were staggered along the cove, receiving final repairs after having barely weathered a devastating three-day sea storm.
Inside the command building, at the highest structure on the ridge, the office of Admiral Kuvak remained cloaked in lamplight.
The man himself stood hunched over his desk, broad-shouldered, head lowered. His armor was formal but unpolished, sleeves rolled to the elbows as he read from several bamboo-paper scrolls, each sealed in crimson and black wax. Ink stains marked his fingers, proof of hours spent writing missives, reviewing ship repair estimates, and tallying casualty reports from the storm.
He scratched at the sharp line of his jaw. The repairs were ahead of schedule… barely. If the sea held calm, the full division would be mobile again within three days.
Three days. That would be enough.
A knock broke the silence.
He didn't look up.
"Enter."
The door opened with a creak. A standard-bearer stepped in standard armor, mid-rank. Thin, wiry. Face emotionless.
"Admiral," the soldier said, bowing. "Confirmation from the advance operatives. They've arrived in the Nan-Hai harbor."
Kuvak's eyes flicked up. His expression didn't change, but a slight tilt of the head signaled attention.
"Alongside Princess Azula?"
"Yes, sir. They accompanied her under covert assignment. One placed among her escort, the other seeded among Zuko's inner circle. Eyes and ears on both."
Kuvak leaned back slightly in his chair.
"Excellent."
He folded his arms behind him and turned to the side window, staring out at the ships bobbing on the repaired moorings.
"So… the Prince disappears in the middle of the night. Abandons his flagship. Travels light, no fanfare, no notice and reappears days later asking for emergency supplies, requesting reinforcements, and bleeding from a duel with an Earth Kingdom general."
He chuckled softly.
"Curious."
The soldier remained silent.
Kuvak turned back toward the desk and tapped a finger against a detailed map of the Nan-Hai province, pinned by brass studs to the wood.
"It was his father's idea to give him the 25th Division," Kuvak said slowly. "Not mine. He wanted the boy tested. He wanted the fire tempered. Well… let's see how many cracks appear before it finishes baking."
He looked at the report again, tiny, coded writing woven into mundane parchment.
Azula had arrived. Her retainers were in place.
Zuko's movements were now under full observation.
The pieces were falling into their proper positions.
"Send a raven to the embedded agents," Kuvak said. "Tell them the game is on. I want daily updates. Every meeting. Every private council. Every suspicious gesture."
"Yes, Admiral."
The soldier turned to go.
Kuvak paused.
"Oh… and one more thing."
The soldier stopped at the threshold.
Kuvak smiled faintly almost amused, almost disappointed.
"If the Prince proves unworthy of this command… you know what must be done."
The soldier bowed lower. "Of course, Admiral."
He left, closing the door quietly behind him.
Kuvak returned to his map, his shadow long in the low lamp light.
Three days.
That was all the time Zuko had left before judgment arrived.
[A/N: Read 15 to 20 chapters ahead available right now on patreon.com/saiyanprincenovels.com. Please sent a powerstone, like and comment. It helps, and thank you for the support.]