Bitter Alliance

Act III

Chapter Seven

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Staring into the fire, I wait. I do not need the reports from the sentries. I know Zuko’s army is close by. I had wondered how long it would take the Fire Lord to seek my council. His distrust of me has kept him away far too long. I have much I must atone for – sins that only he can forgive.

My father warned me. He warned me about interfering with the threads of fate. Though I had no part in the beginning, I certainly played my part near this end.

“Mahari,” a brusque voice calls me by a name I hardly recognize anymore. “The Fire Lord and his… troops have cleared the pass. He sent a herald ahead. He wishes to speak with you as soon as the wounded are attended.”

“How many?” I ask, needing to confirm the visions that have haunted me.

“Less than twenty,” my sentry replies.

Bowing my head, I pray for the lost souls of the fallen. Add my twelve men to his… Katara will be able to see them safely across the water. The battle for this nation is lost. The Sect of Kroni has multiplied like locusts over fertile crops, devouring this land. We must retreat if we are to see another day.

The evacuations are almost complete. The underground river to Ba Sing Se has carried all the civilians away. I must see to the men and women who remained behind. I must make sure that the underground river and tunnels are sealed.

“Mahari?” The sentry is waiting for my reply.

I snap out of my reverie. “Please bring the Fire Lord to me posthaste.”

“That won’t be necessary,” a gravely voice announces from the entrance of my tent. Zuko is taller than I remember, the breadth of his shoulders enhanced by the royal armor of the Fire Nation. I fall to my knees in reverence, kowtowing before him.

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Eyeing Mahari suspiciously, I enter her tent. She has never bowed to me before. I remove my helmet and wait for her to stand. I clench my fists, the urge to harm the witch overwhelming. She has kept so much from me. I doubt I shall ever know the entire truth.

“My lord,” she says, continuing to bow before me.

“Get up.” I bury my thoughts and feelings deep, though I hear the siren’s song of the comet. I feel as though I am on the edge of a great precipice. If I close my eyes and jump, I shall fall for all eternity. If blame is to be assigned, I must assign it to the woman before me. I want to hurt her. I want to see her bleed. I despise every breath she takes, my distrust of her tainting the very roots of my existence. “Jeong Jeong has been injured. The battle is lost.”

A malicious grin spreads across my face as I watch the closely veiled pain flit across her exotic features. I have always suspected that she harbors feelings for my general. Now my suspicion has been confirmed.

“Will he live?” she asks, her voice shaken and soft.

“Damuk seems to think so,” I answer quickly, unable to take pleasure in someone else’s pain, no matter how much I want to.

Silent tears fall. The anguish and her age show in her eyes. “All is lost, Zuko. We must abandon this land and retreat to the Earth Kingdom.”

Bitter laughter erupts from me, the irony of her words biting into the remnants of my soul. For once, she speaks the truth – a truth I do not wish to hear. I am not willing to abandon my nation. It is where I was born and where I will die. This is my destiny.

“You must take who is left and retreat through the underground rivers. If you go over the ocean, you will be attacked,” I instruct her. “I will stay behind.”

“No!” she protests, moving to touch me, but quickly withdrawing her hand as if I had burned her. “That is suicide. I will stay behind. I know the network of the true caverns – the ones that were carved by the gods. You must go on! You have so much to do! Kaya and Iroh need your guidance.”

I feel the blood drain from my face. The names of my children… A boy and a girl. Agni has blessed me. “What did you say?” I ask her, needing to hear the names again, afraid to repeat their names for fear they too are a lie.

Mahari approaches me cautiously, like one would approach a wounded animal. Kneeling before me, she touches her forehead to my boots and weeps, mindless of the blood and mud on them. “I’m sorry, my lord. Please accept the apologies of a humble servant. My visions…” she chokes and looks up.

“They are fractured,” she whispers fearfully. “I cannot make sense of them. I have become entangled in the delicate threads of fate. My gift is… unreliable.”

“What do I care of your gift?” I hiss as I step away from her. “Your gift for lies! Your gift of manipulation!”

She hangs her head in what I assume is shame. “You were injured. I thought it best –”

“To what!” I shout, no longer caring about decorum. “To conspire against me! To steal my children! To sacrifice me to my father!”

The air is thick with my anger. The power of Sozin’s comet thrums through me, taunting me with its power, singing to me to use it to strike the woman before me down. I could make her death quick and painless. I could turn her into a pile of ash with a mere thought.

Rubbing her sleeve across her face, Mahari straightens. Her features are not schooled as they normally are. They are void… almost lifeless. “I can offer no apology for my actions. I see that now. I never conspired against you. I did not steal your children. Katara was pregnant with them. You are the one who convinced her to leave. I… I tried to spare you from your father’s wrath. I tried –”

“Did you try to stop me from raping my children’s mother?”

“No,” she admits shamefully.

I slam my fist on the table. “You’ve no idea how she haunts me. Her eyes are blue. They are filled with tears.”

Mahari seeks to comfort me, but the glare I give her warns her off.

“She loves you, my lord. She makes her way across the ocean, even now.”

“Lie!” I move to strike her, but miraculously hold my temper in check. I want to believe her. I want to believe that the woman who haunts my dreams loves me. I want to believe in a future, even when the stench of death clings to me.

“I speak the truth,” she whispers, cowering before me. “I have seen this. As the moon rises, she shall land upon the shore.”

“I thought you said your gift is unreliable.”

Mahari bows her head. “It is, my lord. But I know this vision for what it is. Have the sentries stand watch. She will save you. She will save you all. She will be able to take you across the ocean.”

I dare not feel hope. I won’t survive the disappointment. I cling to my anger. I move to leave. “You had better hope she arrives before the sun rises or you will die.”

Mahari nods in acceptance of her impending execution.

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TBC

Author’s Notes – Please accept my deepest, sincerest apologies for the lack of update on this story. It’s such a dark story that it is often difficult to write. I’m currently on a business trip and had time to kill – time where there were no “Mommy, I want this. Mommy, I want that.” Yeah! No interruptions! The reunion chapter is up next. I should have it up by the weekend. Wish me luck…