The Fire Nation Prince

Chapter 7: The Prince in the Dark

The harbor slept beneath a velvet sky, the stars above dimmed by the haze of smoke from the capital's furnaces. Lanterns bobbed softly along the piers, swaying in rhythm with the tide, their muted glow barely illuminating the outlines of docked vessels. Crickets whispered from the rocky edges of the seawall, and the quiet slosh of water echoed in the cold wind.

It was the kind of silence that cities only heard in the depths of night, when even the criminals were too tired to conspire, and the ghosts of older wars paced the stone paths unseen.

Prince Zuko walked through it all as if drawn by some invisible thread. Cloak pulled close to his armor, boots striking against wet timber, his eyes never once left the horizon where the sea swallowed the sky.

Rin followed at his side, his stride brisk but his thoughts hesitant. The older soldier had served Zuko during exile, had seen him broken, furious, obsessed. He had also seen him reborn, sharper, more focused, dangerously so. But tonight, Rin couldn't place what he saw.

It wasn't rage. It wasn't even resolve.

It was something colder.

A decision already made, one that no one, not Rin, not the Fire Lord, not even the stars, could change.

They reached the far end of the harbor, where a modest Fire Nation ship bobbed alone in the tide. Sleek, well-maintained, but nothing like the grand ships assigned to the Crown Prince's armada. Just a single chaser-class vessel, lean and fast, designed for scouting or pursuit.

It had no escort. No flags. No drums.

Only a skeleton crew, barely twenty men. Half of them still groggy, armor askew, yawning behind hastily tied sashes.

They stood straighter when they saw Zuko approach, though unease colored their faces. One of them, a young helmsman with sleep still clinging to his eyes, leaned over the railing as the prince stepped onto the gangplank.

"Your Highness," he stammered. "We were told you wouldn't be departing until…"

"We sail now," Zuko said without stopping. "Wake the engine chief. I want full pressure by the time we clear the mouth of the bay."

The crew scattered like kicked embers.

Rin paused at the base of the ramp. "My prince… forgive me. But we're not ready. The men barely had time to arm themselves. We have no second ship. No supply barge. No forward scout. This isn't how we sail."

Zuko turned, and for a moment, his face softened, not with kindness, but with a strange kind of clarity. A flame that burned inward.

"I'm not bringing a fleet. Not this time. Not for where I'm going."

Rin's eyes narrowed slightly. "Then what are we walking into?"

Zuko stepped closer, low voice barely audible over the sound of waves licking the dock.

"An echo," he said. "A test. A door."

The soldier looked like he wanted to ask more, but knew better. He gave a stiff nod and followed his prince up the ramp.

On deck, the crew scrambled into position. The coal furnace below sparked into life. The sound of iron and fire rose up through the floorboards as pressure hissed from the steam vents.

Zuko stood at the prow, arms folded behind his back, watching the city grow smaller as the ship drifted slowly away from the docks. The lights of the capital flickered like dying stars behind him.

Rin came to stand at his side, silent for a long while.

Then finally: "You should've told the princess more."

"I told her enough," Zuko said. "She'll be where she needs to be."

Rin grunted. "You trust her?"

"No," Zuko said plainly. "But I trust that she wants her power back. That's all I need."

The cruiser picked up speed, cutting through the moonlit water like a blade in silk. No banners flew from the mast. No horns announced their departure.

Zuko didn't want them to know he was gone.

Not yet.

The ship cut through the sea like a needle threading black silk.

The deck was silent save for the hiss of steam from below and the occasional muttered command as the crew adjusted their heading. No one shouted. No orders were barked. Even the younger soldiers, men who had never sailed without fanfare, had begun to sense something sacred, or perhaps dangerous, in their prince's silence.

Zuko stood at the foredeck, eyes narrowed toward the open ocean ahead, arms folded beneath his cloak. He didn't move, didn't speak, just stared into the horizon as if daring the world to meet his gaze.

He needed to reach Kyoshi Island, and soon.

He'd read Lee's scroll half a dozen times in his mind already, every phrase echoing louder with each memory of what they had done. The political theater had played out perfectly, but now it was more than politics. General Fong knew. Somehow, he had learned of the mission, possibly before it even began.

Too clean, Zuko thought. Too surgical to be mere chance.

That meant the leak was real. Somewhere in the empire, maybe even within the new fleet, eyes were watching. Words were being passed along shadowed routes. Messages intercepted, movements tracked. And if Fong could discover something as discreet as Kyoshi when it hadn't even left his head until the operation was underway, others might follow.

The White Lotus. The people Zhao was working for before he was taken out. Kuvak.

Even Ozai.

And that was why Kyoshi could no longer be a shadow move. Now, it had to be reinforced, to ensure their control, to stabilize what had been won. And if need be… to send a message.

But he wouldn't sail directly to the island. That would be reckless. Predictable. He was already taking a big risk with this whole losing his temper and nearly blowing the head off of Azula.

No… he needed a mask. A detour that looked like a routine inspection. Something unremarkable, surrounded by enough noise to conceal his real destination.

He heard Rin's boots approaching behind him. Measured. Loyal. Hesitant.

The older man stepped to his side, arms behind his back. "We've leveled the rudder and stabilized the heading, my prince. The crew requests final confirmation of our destination."

Zuko didn't turn.

"Tutanaki," he said quietly.

Rin blinked. "The southern coast island?"

"Yes. A few days west of Kyoshi. Close enough to look routine. Close enough to anywhere that no one will assume what I'm actually doing."

Rin frowned slightly. "No supply manifest. No courier relay. No military assets worth inspecting. It's a ghost post, sir."

"Exactly," Zuko replied.

Rin studied him. "So that's not our final stop."

"No."

Rin hesitated. Then: "Kyoshi."

Zuko finally turned, the corner of his mouth twitching with a rare smirk. "You've been with me too long."

Rin exhaled. "I've followed you through pirate-infested waters and lightning storms. I knew what we were doing in the colonies before even you admitted it. I can tell when a course is just a decoy."

Zuko nodded. "Good."

Rin paused. "Sir… why not bring the full fleet if Kyoshi's truly that important? Why go now, in the middle of the night, with a skeleton crew and attracting this much attention with your father and the admiralty?"

"Because," Zuko said, his tone dropping into steel, "I don't know how deep the leak goes. If they knew about Kyoshi once, they can know again. And if they know now, they'll be watching what I move and when. The moment I raise the banners and sail under official colors, the illusion collapses. I know this was very risky but its part of a large goal, to find the real players involved. My sudden departure will push everyone to act. I am not stupid enough to believe that people haven't noticed my change in behaviour just as you have."

"Well I can attest that you are not the same boy prince exiled by his father anymore," Rin admitted.

"I have done a fine job of hiding my intentions and not making reckless moves so this will obviously get their attention and force them into action."

He turned back toward the sea.

"We move quiet. We reinforce what we've claimed. And we ensure that no one, no general, no spy, no masked old man in a white robe, rips it out from under us."

Rin didn't speak again.

He simply bowed, low and deliberate, before retreating back to the command rail.

The sky above was still clouded, stars dim behind the haze, but Zuko stood tall against the wind. The smoke of the capital was gone now, replaced by brine and salt and the sharp tang of the open sea. His cloak whipped behind him like a banner without a name.

He did not smile.

But in his chest, beneath armor and silence, something ancient burned.

'One whisper in the wind,' he thought, 'and the world repositions its gaze.'

---

The night air still hummed with residual heat, but inside the tower, everything felt cold.

Azula stood where Zuko had left her, framed in shadow and cinders, her arms crossed beneath her outer robe, her golden eyes fixed on the empty doorway. Outside, the sounds of scrambling soldiers echoed like a song of chaos, boots slamming on stairs, orders shouted with more desperation than discipline, steam whistling from the engines far below.

She had never seen the harbor come to life so fast in the dead of night.

And it was all because of him.

Her brother.

No… she corrected herself. Not just him. Something else now. Something different.

Since returning from exile with the Avatar in chains, Zuko had been many things, smug, confident, ambitious. Cunning, even. But tonight… something had slipped. Not just his temper. Not just the mask.

Something deeper. Something real.

Azula's fingers traced the edge of the railing as if touching the ghost of that moment, the fire that flared in his voice, the sharp edge of command, the finality when he had barked at her to 'back off'. Not pleaded. Not reasoned. Commanded.

And for the first time, Azula hadn't pushed back.

'You hesitated,' she scolded herself. 'You froze.'

But still… her heart beat faster. Not from fear now, but from the thrill of it.

This wasn't the plan. Zuko's plan or hers. This sudden departure wasn't rehearsed or rehearsable. No smug smirks. No clever manipulations. He had been hit with something unexpected, and it had thrown him just far enough off-balance to show his real footing.

She licked her lips slowly, a grin forming as she turned toward the windows and watched the harbor blaze with hurried movement.

"So," she whispered to herself, "you can still bleed."

She stepped back from the ledge, wrapping her arms in the silken folds of her robe.

This was an opportunity. Zuko hadn't made many mistakes since his return, but this? This was the first true fracture. And if she timed it right, if she struck in the right places, she could make it count.

But she would need help.

Not guards or soldiers. Not council sycophants.

She needed people she could control.

She needed her circle.

By the time she returned to her private quarters, the lanterns had begun to dim across the palace grounds, but her mind was alive with motion.

A handful of servants jumped at her sudden entrance, bowing deeply. She waved them away with a single gesture, already moving toward the tall lacquered wardrobe in the back corner. From beneath a false bottom, she withdrew a small travel scroll, stamped with her personal seal, hidden from court records.

She unraveled it on the desk and scribbled a quick, elegant message.

***---***

To Ty Lee and Mai

By order of the Princess of the Fire Nation,

You are hereby summoned to the Imperial Capital by my personal request. Circumstances demand your presence immediately.

You will be transported by royal hawk escort. Expect departure at dawn.

Bring only what you need.

We have work to do.

-Azula

***---***

She sealed it, pressed it to her flame, and handed it to the fastest runner she could summon.

"Send it by hawk and make sure it flies tonight," she ordered. "Wake the aviary if you have to. No delays."

The servant bowed and fled.

Azula stood by the window once more, watching the last flicker of Zuko's ship disappear beyond the bay. A thousand questions pulsed in her mind: Where was he going? What did he see in that message? What was so important that he'd risk pissing off Kuvak and Father all at once?

She didn't know.

But she would find out.

And when she did, she'd be ready.

***

The pounding at his door was relentless.

At first, Admiral Kuvak stirred beneath the layered covers of his estate quarters, groaning low and curling an arm across his eyes. He had always been a light sleeper, but this was different. Urgent. Desperate. Not the kind of knocking a servant used to wake a superior.

This was panic.

"Admiral!" a muffled voice called from the other side. "Admiral Kuvak, forgive the hour, it's urgent!"

Kuvak blinked into darkness, the haze of sleep still clinging to him like ash. His hand shot to the bedside table, pulling the covers aside and reaching for the small lantern. With a flick, it sparked to life, bathing the room in dim amber.

He swung his legs over the side and marched to the door in nothing but a thin undershirt and silk trousers. The door burst open before the attendant could even finish knocking.

"What in Agni's name is going on?" Kuvak growled.

A junior officer, pale and sweating, stood outside. Behind him, two others waited, their faces just as strained.

"My lord," the officer stammered, "I-Prince Zuko, he's… he's gone, sir."

Kuvak froze.

"Gone?" he repeated. His voice wasn't loud. It was sharp. Precise. As if the word itself were poisonous in his mouth.

"He departed the harbor an hour ago. A single ship, no escort. Minimal crew."

The admiral's brow twitched. "Gone where?"

"We don't know, sir. No orders filed. No banners raised. Just… gone."

Kuvak stared at the boy. At the sweat on his neck. At the tremor in his fingers. He turned slowly and grabbed the dark navy cloak hanging on the wall, throwing it over his shoulders.

"And no one thought to stop the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation from vanishing in the middle of the night with a ghost crew?"

"We tried to get confirmation, sir," another officer piped up. "But the dock commander said the prince left under royal discretion. He even signed the clearance himself."

Kuvak's teeth clenched.

"And where was the princess during this little exodus?"

"Still at the tower," said the first. "She returned not long after the prince departed."

Kuvak stormed back into his quarters, grabbing his boots and pulling them on hastily. His hands were shaking slightly.

"This makes no sense," he muttered aloud. "He was just at the war chamber… I read the movement orders myself. Two days. Full fleet. Coordinated departure."

He looked up at them. "What changed?"

The room was silent.

Kuvak's voice dropped low. "Answer me."

One of the aides swallowed hard. "A messenger arrived during his dinner with the princess. Whispered something in his ear. After that… he left."

"Did anyone intercept the message?"

"No, sir. He destroyed it. The scroll's ashes were seen in the tower chamber."

Kuvak's fists closed slowly.

"He's hiding something."

They didn't respond. They didn't need to.

He paced across the room, boots thudding softly against polished stone. Each step felt heavier. Louder. His mind reeled.

He's only been Crown Prince for days.

Ozai trusts him, but barely.

And now he disappears in the dead of night without so much as a formal dispatch?

This wasn't recklessness. This was deliberate.

"Prepare my command staff," he barked. "I want every officer currently in the city assembled in my secondary strategy hall within the hour. No exceptions."

"Yes, Admiral!"

The men turned and ran.

Kuvak stood alone now, breath shallow, sweat forming at the back of his neck.

The fire in his room flickered uneasily.

Then he crossed to the writing desk, grabbed a sealed parchment scroll and the Fire Lord's personal sigil. He dipped the tip of his quill into red wax and began writing.

***---***

To His Majesty, Fire Lord Ozai,

Subject: Unauthorized Departure of the Crown Prince

At the second hour past midnight, Prince Zuko departed the Imperial Capital aboard a lone vessel, without naval escort or fleet support. His stated departure was not recorded in formal manifests and contradicts both our shared campaign timeline and the orders issued earlier the day before.

No dispatches have been submitted since. His last known act was the personal authorization of his own departure through clearance at the southern harbor. The ship was a scout-class vessel with minimal crew.

No information was disclosed to command staff, Admiral Kuvak included. I will pursue investigating his projected course immediately with all caution, but request that the court be made aware of this irregularity.

Respectfully,

*Admiral Kuvak, Commandant of the Imperial 13th Southern Division

***---***

He rolled it, sealed it, and handed it to the fastest courier he had. "Fly it. Now. No stops."

As the door slammed behind the runner, Kuvak stood staring into the fire.

Something wasn't right.

This wasn't an impulsive prince flailing for independence.

This was a man executing a plan too quiet to be noticed, and too dangerous to be ignored.

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