Chapter 30.5- And so the Dragons Danced

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“Princess Azula” I greeted on bent knees. Because what else could I have done? Sung was an asshole for springing this up on me the way he did. Like it was an afterthought. The presence of a Princess was not something that one mentioned as a lesser matter. The Royal Family were not forgiving off insults, and from what I knew of the Princess from canon, she was not the most stable of individuals. Even for a daughter of Agni, her sanity left a lot to be desired. But in the end, what could I do other than bend and scrape to her whims and caprices.

“General Natsu of the Wu family. I have heard a lot about you. They say you are a prodigy of the likes the Fire Nation has never seen before.. In the Capital, they whisper that you are the second coming of the Dragon of the West himself. Omashu, Gaoling, and even Fong’s fortress. Now you have set your sights on Ba Sing Se. “ She said the words with no emotion behind them.. There was no question within them as well. With anyone else I would not respond, wait for them to get their point. But something told me that the Princess did not react well to such.

“All I do, I do in the name of Fire Lord Ozai, and for the glory of the Fire Nation” I said to her, head still bowed and facing the ground. I could feel Toji’s restlessness from my side. We had not been asked to rise, and so could not do so without paying insult but a bow this long was unusual. Our families were nobility that could trace themselves back to the formation of the Fire Nation itself. Toji’s ancestors had been Kings in their own right before they bowed before Fire Lord Kuzan the Unifier.

“Yes. Yes, you do it in his name. But was it his name that led your Grandfather to seeking my hand in marriage for you?” I did not move.. I remained almost painfully still at her words now. This was a crowded tent. Not just my forces, but multiple Generals were in the room. Next to the Princess herself sat four other Generals I could recognise. Speaking like this in such a public forum? There could be only one purpose for it. My humiliation. Now just what had led the Princess to wanting to put me down?

“My Grandfather’s actions are his own, Princess. We might share a name, but we do not share a brain” I winced as the words left my mouth. Especially with the way Toji froze by my side. Too caustic. Completely unintentionally, I might actually end up paying an insult to the royal family by the time I was done here.

“I see. Tell me, General Natsu, what do you think your role here is to be?” She asked, switching topics.

“The orders from the Fire Lord command me to take command of the Vanguard. I expect to be the first one over the wall at any breaching and to lead my men to claim glory for the fire nation” I said simply.

“Oh, just the vanguard? I would have thought someone with your pedigree would need command over the entire force”

“There is none more worthy to lead the Siege than the Princess herself, Great-Grandaughter of Fire Lord Sozin who won the War’s greatest victory with the annihilation of the air nomads” I said plainly, praising a genocidal warlord with a smile on my face. What did I care for air benders who lived a century ago? What did I care that even in the praise I had included what they were, nomads and pacifists who had been no real threat to the Fire Nation.

“I agree. Now rise General and come take your seat by my side” She said, gesturing to a place three seats away from her on the long table around which several high ranking members of the fire Nation army sat.