Tanya watched with a pitying stare as Azula beat a hasty retreat to her room. Poor, proud Azula, rushing away to her room so that nobody would see her cry.
She must be distraught right now. Crushed between the weight of duty to her nation and her love for her brother.
How awful must it feel to imagine condemning your own sibling to imprisonment? Tanya's first instinct was to be outraged at Firelord Ozai for placing such an unreasonable demand upon her, but after a few moments of consideration she came to see the logic in his decision.
Zuko had betrayed the Fire Nation, and public opinion of him and Iroh was at an all time low. Any soldier Ozai entrusted this task to might ensure that Zuko had an 'accident' on his way home, perhaps even a fatal one.
The only one he could completely trust to ensure that his son was safely brought back home was his daughter, even if he would then be forced to lock him in a gilded cage for his crimes.
Was that why he had specifically assigned her to be Azula's subordinate? No doubt he realised that Tanya hated Zuko for betraying her at the North Pole, so putting her in charge was out of the question, but Azula would clearly need some emotional support that only a friend could provide.
If only Ty Lee was here: she'd always been the most supportive one in their friend group. Nonetheless Tanya would try her best. Azula was the sort of friend that everyone should have: smart, loyal, and always pushing her to do her best.
They hadn't seen each other in months, but the first thing Azula had done was warn her about those dangerous rumours spreading about the truth of Zhao's death. It was heartening to know that the princess was always looking out for her, and so the least she could do was look out for her in return.
Her thoughts trailed to The Firelord as she looked back over her shoulder at the doors to the throne room. Ozai was just as proud and stoic as his daughter, but he must be torn up inside too.
First he'd been forced to injure and banish his son for his cowardice, and now was being forced to capture and jail said son again after he'd betrayed his own nation. How ashamed he must be, both of Zuko and of himself, for the things he was doing to his own flesh and blood.
Yet he bottled it all up inside without a flinch in order to uphold the laws and justice of his nation. In the history of her old worlds it had been rare to find a king who'd put the laws of their nation before their own personal gain. What a truly selfless man Ozai was.
"Zuko, do you have any idea how much pain you're putting your family through?" She growled quietly, feeling that burning resentment for her old friend grow ever hotter. She would not physically harm Zuko, not when it would upset Azula so much, but somehow she was going to make him pay for all this.
"What would your mother think of you if she were still here? She'd be ashamed of the man you're becoming."
Speaking of family, there was somewhere she probably ought to visit while she was ashore, and soon if she might be setting again in a few days. Returning to her guest room in the palace, Tanya shrugged off her armour and pulled on a long, hooded black cloak, then stole away into the night.
She needn't have been worried about hiding her usually distinctive hair, because half the city seemed to have painted their hair in tribute to hers tonight. It was all sorts of flattering, and slightly embarrassing.
While it was natural to celebrate military heroes in a time of war, she'd have been lying if she said she hadn't expected some level of resentment for her rather disrespectful use of the bodies of fallen soldiers. It seemed the ministry of propaganda had been hard at work suppressing the details of that particular aspect of her plan.
After nearly an hour of walking, Tanya found herself upon the steps of a huge, traditional Fire Nation temple. She had never really considered anywhere in this world a home, but this place had been something like a permanent office space to her before she'd gone to the Royal Academy and later the navy.
It would be very inconsiderate of her not to pay back the expenses the fire temple had spent on raising her now that she could.
She hammered sharply on the door, and waited until she faintly heard the sound of footsteps approaching on the other side. The door opened, revealing a short, portly yet jolly looking woman in a nun's habit on the other side.
The moment the nun caught a glimpse of a lock of blonde hair hanging down from beneath her hood, she let out an explosive, irritated sigh.
"Oh feh' Agni's sake, not another one! Listen luv' if you lot think you can waltz up here claimin' to be the poor lass' long lost mother, I swear to the spirits I'll take ma' slipper and leave a mark on the back of yer' 'ead so red it'll make the moon jealous, you-…"
Tanya flipped her hood back, a small smile crossing her lips as the nun's eyes widened with recognition.
"Good evening, Sister Vula."
Vula was one of the servants at the fire temple. She was not a firebender, but arguably she and the other sisters did more work maintaining the temple and its day-to-day activities than the sages actually did. Spirits forbid that the wizened sages took time away from meditation to sweep their own floors after all.
It was Vula and the sisters who'd actually looked after her and the other children as they were growing up, excluding the firebending training of course.
"Lil' Tanya!" Before Tanya could say another word, Vula had swept her up into a strong, hearty hug. "Look at ye'! You've grown into such a fine young lassie! It's been so long!"
It had been a rather long time, hadn't it? Since she'd left to board at the Royal Academy for Girls in fact. Tanya had never felt a particular emotional attachment to this place, but seeing Sister Vula like this made her feel a stab of guilt for not having so much as written a letter. "Yes, well… umm… it's been a busy few years."
Vula laughed it off. "Oh, don't you fret petal. It's always the same with you young 'uns, running off without a trace for the first few years the moment you get your freedom. We're used to it, and we don't blame you.
Life's an adventure, and those from this temple have to take every opportunity they can get ta' make somethin' of themselves. But they always find their way back again eventually, once they've found their place in the world." She looked at her knowingly.
"And I daresay you've found yours. You're the darling of the nation, rubbin' shoulders with generals and princesses. You've inspired many a 'wee laddie and lass around 'ere."
"I'm glad to hear that. That's part of the reason I'm here actually," Tanya removed a box from beneath the folds of her robes that jingled heavily with the sound of metal coins. "It pays very well to be an admiral, and I'd like to think this contribution will go towards helping the next set of children from this temple find their place in the world."
Vula sniffed tearfully and pulled her into another hug. "Oh Tanya, 'yer always were a sweet little thing." She took the box and tucked it into her habit. "I'll tuck this away somewhere the sages won't find it, save these pretty pennies for food and clothing. Speaking of food, why not come in for a hot bowl of soup."
"Thank you, but I should pass. I'm expected at the palace, and if I'm gone for too long-…"
"Oh pish those nobles and their la-de-da parties. They don't get to hog you all to themselves on your big celebration night." Vula replied. "Besides, those little wafers on fancy trays they call food ain't 'nough for a growing young girl, especially one who works so hard! Come on in and get some real food down 'yer neck."
Before Tanya could get a word in, she was all but dragged inside. Vula led her through the empty corridors until they reached a small servant's kitchen, and plopped her down on a stool while she hurried over to a large iron pot on the stove."
"'Fraid that most everyone else is out celebrating tonight. Just 'lil old me and the sages too old for partying about." Vula explained. "But everyone's gonna want a bellyfull 'o soup when they get back, so I'll be keepin' this pot bubbling away all night long."
She poured two generous ladles of thick soup into a wooden bowl and set it in front of Tanya. Ah, what an unexpectedly nostalgic smell.
Bread and soup had been for dinner most days of the week when she was younger, and though it was made with the cheapest ingredients available, the sisters had discovered some mysterious trick to make it taste not too bad. Tanya hadn't realised that she missed the taste until she brought a spoonful up to her lip.
"So what was with the reaction at the door? Have you been getting many blonde-haired visitors lately?" She asked between mouthfuls.
Vula sighed heavily. "Aye petal. Since news got back about your victory up north everyone's been talking about you, and it wasn't long until word got around that you grew up here.
We've had two or three harlots rockin' up a day, claiming 'ta be 'yer long lost mother. I guess they think it's an easy way 'ta get rich." She snorted derisively.
"Course, they all make the mistake 'a painting their hair gold. Can't say I remember much 'bout the girl that dropped 'ya off, but her hair was black as everyone else's. I'd have remembered gold."
Tanya raised an eyebrow curiously. "You saw my mother?"
"Only for a few seconds. She knocked on the door and fled down the steps, so I only saw the back of her from a distance. She was a young thing; too young 'ta handle the responsibilities of parenthood alone.
It's a story we've seen over and over again these past 'undred years: one parent goes to war, falls in battle, and the other finds they just can't manage on their own."
Tanya had never paid much thought to who her birth parents in this world would have been. She'd had a mother and father in her first world, and had been mature enough to never need one in both worlds she'd been reincarnated into.
Still, now that the subject had been brought up and she'd made her own life for herself, she couldn't deny feeling just a touch curious.
"I suppose I must have inherited my hair from my father then." She mused, then smiled sardonically. "I suppose that rules out all the rumours of Zhao being my father."
Vula chuckled good-naturedly. "Aye petal, word around town these days is that you're the child of Agni himself: born with his sunlight in your hair. The priests have been more than happy to help that little rumour spread." She hummed thoughtfully. "Although I guess that would explain the blanket."
"Blanket?" Tanya asked.
"The one 'yer were wrapped in when we found 'ya at the doorstep. Odd looking thing it were. Hold on a 'mo, I'm sure we stored it away somewhere in the cupboards."
...
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