The King's Court was silent. Nobody had known the course that yesterday's battle had taken. I was the only man alive in the city who knew. Well, excluding my agents. They knew as well as I did, but their lips were sealed. Sealed since the day they became Dai Li. Such was part of their duty. They spoke when spoken to by none other than me alone.
So while the King hid in the rear of his palace, alone with 10 of my "best" agents and his bear, while the bulk of Ba Sing Se's nobility hid in their royal apartments, I stalked the halls od the palace, a wolf in sheep's clothing. It was dead silent. It took the culmination of a willpower within me to not sit the throne. To not name myself Earth King. I had to be honest with myself. I would never do. I would never suffice as a King. Too much interaction. Too much attention. All that time spent in the sun, you could never walk the shadows again. A sacrifice I had no intention of making.
The solitude had its perks though. Prime among them, I didn't have to speak with Kaizar in the solitude of my office. It had worn its use anyway, what with Joo Dee's absence for the last month or so. I couldn't blame her. It had been a rough pregnancy for her.
But I pushed the thoughts out of my head and restored my composure in front of Kaizar were I stood face to face with him in the center of the grand hall, the throne hundreds of feet away despite the fact I was closer to the throne than the other side of the hall's grandiose doors. Oh how I hated those doors. I would have replaced them long ago if the prospect hadn't angered the King so.
"You have a new report?" I asked my Captain.
"Yes sir."
"Then read it to me. I don't have time to sit down and see to it. I have work to attend to."
Such was true. So as he, the ever-diligent captain, read the report by memory alone, without any suspicion of omitting a detail considering my time and experience with him, I walked to my office to recover some final objects and reports I wished to be free of.
"The final casualties of the battles are being counted. The Dragon's attack, a pyrrhic victory but a tactical and moral loss for him, vice versa for us, has resulted in numerous Earth Kingdom casualties, but a near total devastation of the Fire Nation's armored and a near total halt of their momentum."
"Good." I said, proving I was still listening lest he lose some of his detailing. "Go on."
"How's counterattack was less successful. How lost many of his tanks and benders and failed to remove the Fire Nation from their camp, but the attrition that ensued is reported to have weakened Fire Nation morale even further."
"And How's condition?" I asked, praying for a negative response.
"Alive." Damn. "He's returned to his camp to re-fortify and prepare for a future Fire Nation attack.
"His numbers?"
"Less than five hundred, but veterans now. 100 benders too. Enough to hold the camp. Do you wish for that to change?"
I smiled. So Kaizar was loyal. Loyal enough to suggest betraying his nation's army for my ambitions. That's what I liked to see. And as disappointed as I was to learn of How's survival, it would serve a purpose as everything else has.
"That won't be necessary, Kaizar. You say How prepares for a second attack. Will it come?"
"No, sir. Your messages have been relayed. Many of our birds have returned empty-handed so we can assume he got the message. The Dragon knows his son his dead. We mounted the heads at Stone's Edge. The evidence of our involvement has been removed."
"You can always count on the Fire Nation to burn the evidence." I smiled at the prospect of them doing my dirty work for me. My men wouldn't have objected, but I had other uses for them. "What do you know of the Dragon's movements?"
"Rumors say he's been locked in his tent. Refuses to come out, but whispers say he plans to retreat. He's done here."
"And so the Dragon retreats. It was only a matter of time. Well then, Captain. I'd say it's time to commence phase 2. Gather your men here. Inform the Earth King that How and the army has fallen, and he is to be escorted to our underground bunker. Escort him, his bear, and all within the palace to Lake Laogai through the tunnels."
"Yes sir. And those on the streets?"
"Start gathering them. They'll be next."
"Yes sir. Will that be all?"
"Depends. Do you have anything more for me?"
"Yes sir. It's from the First Kingdom Hospital. It's your secretary, Jo Ni, Jodi, something-"
"Joo Dee."
"Sorry, sir."
"Don't be. What of her?"
"She's gone into labor. She's asked for you and her husband."
"Her husband." I already had a bad feeling about this. "Do you have the list of casualties from the battle?"
"Yes sir." He handed them to me.
"Thank you, Captain, now get to work. And try to be convincing. We may be dealing with an idiot, but don't underestimate the power he holds."
"I understand" And he left.
I know you do. I trusted Kaizar, but a man with all the knowledge in the world was dangerous no mater how loyal he was. Once this was done, once the king, the nobles, the mere peasants, and the army were satiated, he would be next. He would have to be. There was no other option.
I opened the list of casualties and searched the list. Organized by surnames. Good. It wasn't hard to find his name after 7 pages. I had already resolved not to tell her. She would ask for him, no doubt. Beg me to tell her where he was. But for all she knew, he would be on his way.
I clenched the list in my hands. It brought me no pleasure. And to think. Today would almost have been the perfect day.