"Colonel Xing of my daughter's 11th Royal Regiment."
"Yes, Fire Lord." The young colonel marched out to present himself before the flame-obscured throne, easily ignoring the casual insult of tying the regiment to 'only' the Fire Lord's daughter.
Being the second in command, Mozi was the only other person from the 11th Regiment allowed in the royal court. Of course, his lowly station meant he was stuck way at the back, but even from this distance, the hall's acoustics carried the voices rather well, and he got a decent view of the goings on.
Xing was kneeling before the curtain of fire, head hung low in obeisance. There almost felt like a tangible weight from the collective stares on him. Mozi didn't need to take too close a look to sense the envy and resentment from some of the assembled military courtiers, or the more clueless equivalents from the civilian nobility.
As Xing and the princess had expected, the higher ups in the capital didn't like him too much.
It wasn't all negative though, here and there Mozi saw the edges of admiring smirks or grateful and proud smiles, usually from familiar faces, exclusively from the military representatives. And in the back of the great hall, where Mozi stood, there were a bit more of Xing's supporters. Younger commanders and officers especially, or ones that the 11th had pulled out of sticky situations.
The pressure lifted somewhat when the Fire Lord began to speak. "Your hard work and devotion to the Fire Nation in the past few years has not gone unnoticed. You have brought victories worthy of retelling, and have salvaged the disasters from our more…unwise commanders. Field commanders and colonial governors have spoken highly of your selfless, tireless work. Work that you have downplayed and refused any commendation for, even from my daughter."
"I only did what I had to, Fire Lord. I know that my achievements mean little on the larger scale of the long war."
Mozi felt a pang of danger as Xing threw back the same words from many officials and nobles back to the court. The lieutenant colonel could hear the Fire Lord frowning in his next words.
"Be that as it may, under your command, my daughter's 11th Regiment has accomplished far more than any commander and force of equal standing has ever done, and with significantly lighter losses."
The Fire Lord was on Xing's side? That was…interesting.
"Your…unorthodox methods, while often in direct opposition of the Fire Nation's usual doctrine, have garnered far greater, undeniable results. Unlike those who are uneducated about such matters, we appreciate the efforts the 11th Regiment has taken to secure lower losses, even in exchange for glory. Your attempt to preserve Fire Nation lives is a great credit to you, no matter what other lesser minds might think."
Mozi frowned harder. For the Fire Lord to outright defend Xing like this went far beyond expectations, which meant there was a not-so-hidden ploy here…
"You are most gracious, your majesty." It was impressive how Xing could keep his calm despite the suspicious circumstances.
"Colonel Xing. Know that the royal court is most indebted to your work, and we owe you much. However…"
Here it came. Mozi felt himself stiffen as he quite literally braced himself.
"We have to consider also the fact that your foes are merely Earth Kingdom rabble, and that your great victories while outnumbered often involve facing large conscript rabble."
Mozi was truly impressed at how the Fire Lord managed to sound so patronizing, consoling and insulting at the same time.
"This does not detract from your achievements, nor does it sway my personal judgment on you. However, after much counsel from my learned advisors, it pains me to inform you that I must reluctantly withhold your promotion to general, even if you are most deserving of it in my eyes."
Ah, passing the buck and washing his hands clean. That much was expected, so Mozi relaxed a little. The royal court was just trying to assuage the notoriously brutal and dreaded colonel to hopefully stop him from going on a killing spree.
Xing's head bobbed a little in a shallow nod. "I fully understand, your majesty. I am still too young, and my official service is too short to earn such a title." Even if richer nobles have bought their relatives' way into becoming a backline general, Mozi bitterly thought.
"Unfortunately so. However, we are not completely absent of gratitude. Colonel Xing, you are hereby raised to the new rank of First Royal Champion, and welcomed to the ranks of the nobility. You will answer to me or the crown princess first, before any of my generals. In exchange, you will have all the rights of a noble scion, excluding the responsibilities of overseeing land."
A landless noble? That was…interesting.
"It might be a meager consolation for your deeds, but let this be a first step into the ranks of our royal court. Should you continue to excel, I will personally see to uplifting you into a rank worthy of royal attention."
Mozi almost sighed with relief at hearing that. The Fire Lord was still open to the risky option of marrying Xing into the family. That was good for the regiment. Very good.
Now the risk of the princess running off with the colonel (whether he wanted to or not) would drop from 'highly unlikely' to 'improbable, but not unthinkable'. More importantly, the Fire Lord's explicit attention would likely mean most of the negative attention would be lifted from Xing.
It was a not-too-ugly compromise in the end. Xing is kept away from being a general for now, but he had been given a scrap of nobility, a promise of greater rewards. It was not the worst result any of them had expected, but not the best outcome either. A bit worse than attaining colonial governorship, but definitely better than 'inheriting' a military fortress.
Mozi would have to help his colonel pore over the details of this new rank, though if the princess' insight into court politics remained reliable, Xing would likely spend most of his time in the colonies and the Earth Kingdom lands beyond it.
"Your majesty is most generous. I will strive to be worthy of that title."
A small but significant chunk of the court's time was then taken up by testimonials about Xing and the 11th's achievements, generally by those who had personally witnessed it, like Admiral Daeyang and Colonel Dao, or a few that were blatantly made up and exaggerated for effect by nobles who could not have possibly have the spine to even step foot on the colonies, let alone a battlefield.
Mozi guessed that it was the Fire Lord's work instead of Princess Azula. She tended to avoid dealing with the blatantly incompetent on any level, even if it's to send a message like what her father was doing.
"Henceforth, the 11th Royal Regiment shall also be officially recognized as the Princess' Fire Lancers, as well as holding the right to be named 'the Defiant'."
And that was the final seal of royal intervention. The 11th were now officially tied to Princess Azula, and anyone stupid enough to still petition her to rescind the patronage would be liable for directly insulting the royal family. Any idiot who now tried to argue about the regiment's priority in requisition requests and transport queues would effectively be a hindrance to royal duties. Anyone who dared call the 11th cowards or savage brutes without presenting proper evidence would really have to be careful about who heard them.
It would still be only minor progress within the detached court politics, but out in the colonies, out in the ports and bases, this boon would make things far easier on the regiment. Mozi almost broke into a dumb smile at the thought of having such convenience now open to them.
After all the accolades had been confirmed, Xing was dismissed and the new noble (however technical that title might turn out to be) strode towards the back of the hall, as his position warranted. Mozi greeted him with a silent smile, while the royal court continued with its proceedings.
Xing was about to say something, but a movement to the side caught both their eyes. Princess Azula was standing by the walls, her bodyguards maintaining a healthy space around her. One raised royal eyebrow was all that was needed, and Mozi followed after Xing towards her summons. As they were allowed within the cordon of bodyguards, there was no protocols to break when the two officers followed their patron out of the throne room and into a hallway, and then finally made it into a study room.
"Princess," Mozi greeted with a bow as the bodyguards left the room to stand guard by the sole entrance. She gave him a nod, acknowledging his presence, though her eyes were fixed on Xing.
"Lieutenant Colonel Mozi. If I might have some time with the colonel here."
"Of course, your highness." Mozi promptly bowed and joined the bodyguards outside. No sooner did his feet leave the doorway, he heard a soft crackling of metal plates. Mozi and the bodyguards turned to see Princess Azula's hand buried in a bent over Xing's stomach.
"That's for staying away for so long," she sharply said as she stepped back.
Xing straightened himself, showing no signs of discomfort from being punched in the guts other than a knowing grin. "It was an idea we both agreed to, your highness."
"Then you should have come up with a better one."
The princess' hand lashed out again, but this time instead of a strike, she grabbed onto Xing's collar and yanked him towards her. Princess Azula firmly pressed her lips against the cheek of a very surprised Xing for a couple of seconds, and then pushed the colonel back.
"That's for your hard work."
It was one of the very, very rare times where Mozi ever saw his young, confident colonel looking utterly confused and flustered. And his cheeks were taking on some color. He'd walked into Ren and Kai, as well as other couples (or that one threesome) in the 11th before, but this was the first time Xing was actually blushing.
"I…thank…you?"
Princess Azula rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "Really. That's it?"
Xing seemed to recover from that reply, and he blinked his dumb stare away. After a quick shake of his head, the colonel bowed respectfully. "I am most…grateful for your concern over my wellbeing, princess." He then straightened and took one long step to close the distance towards her.
This time it was the princess who was caught off guard, as Xing gently wrapped his hand around hers and lifted it up. His eyes remained fixed on hers as he lightly brushed his lips against her knuckles, before slowly letting the princess' hand slip away.
"Ah shit."
Mozi turned to see some of the bodyguards shaking their heads at each other. A couple were pulling out pouches and offering it to their colleagues. "Really thought they'd have locked lips…" one of them whispered.
"No way," a smug bodyguard replied. "They ain't dirty sluts like you."
Before the good humor could spread, a coldness washed over them, and they returned their gaze back to the room where the princess and the colonel were staring at them.
One of the bodyguards gulped. "We'll, ah, keep watch, your highness." Then they all sidestepped away from the entrance, leaving the lieutenant colonel alone.
"I'll…wait for you to be done, sir." Mozi quickly broke line of sight to the young couple for safety, joining the royal bodyguards. Out of sight but still within earshot, the adults passively eavesdropped on the conversation within.
"Anyway, the war council will declare it yet, but father has agreed to your proposal of cutting up the Earth Kingdom. The High Generals will be adopting the plans to limit Omashu's reach to the south of the East Lake, while Ba Sing Se will be slowly strangled on all fronts."
"And the rest?"
Mozi could hear the princess' grin. "The war council will approach the conquest of the weaker states on a case-by-case basis, basically leaving it up to each theater commander. Naturally, I'll assign the 11th to deal to the 'less glorious' north to fully secure the colonies."
"And give Admiral Daeyang the coastal security he needs for patrolling the Northern Sea. That's about as good as we can expect then."
"Indeed." There was a short, heavy pause before the princess spoke again. "Do you have news of my brother?"
"We've only met the prince once more after that, he'd returned to Zilang to resupply. Of course, we did not actively aid him, but he helped himself to the stores that Quartermaster Hyung so clumsily left unlocked and unguarded."
And poor Hyung had to suffer a month of 'forced isolation' in Zilang for his mistake, basically sent to spend the time with his family. Such a tragedy.
"Someone told me you guided him south?" Princess Azula's voice sounded very much amused.
And of course Xing would mirror it. "That would be acting against orders, princess. He simply overheard the theories me and some others were discussing. Prince Zuko is most resourceful to be sneaking around our camp like that…"
And Prince Iroh was somehow able to hide an entire sack of tea leaves under his robes, the greedy bastard.
"I see. Well, it's good to know the dum-dum's alright I guess. Now, what's this I hear about a surprise?"
Oh, that. Mozi looked at the bodyguards whose attention was suddenly fixed onto him. He answered their silent question with a shrug. Loose lips, and all that.
"It's something I'm working on to…speed things up a bit, princess."
"And you can't tell me about it?"
"Naturally. It's a surprise, after all. I just need to manage a few more noteworthy victories before I can present it to you."
"Not even a clue?"
"Well… No."
A minor official shuffled quickly into the hallway, interrupting the conversation. The royal court was coming to a close, and the princess had been requested to join with the Fire Lord and his war council.
"Until later then, colonel."
"Of course, your highness." Xing gave Mozi a glance, and somehow through the silence and the vague, speculative look, he got the hint. The lieutenant colonel quickly grabbed the official by his shoulders and spun him around to lead him back to the throne room. Then the bodyguards clued in to what was happening and conveniently formed up into a wall to block out the colonel and the princess from the sputtering official's line of sight.
There was a rustle of cloth and metal, and as the bodyguards spread back out again, a quick glance back to a wide-eyed, slightly agape princess and a smirking Xing told Mozi all he needed to know.
"I will look forward to our next meeting, my princess."