章 54: Chapter 54
The Fire Nation was alive with the sounds of revelry.
The greatest war hero of their generation, the mighty Admiral Tanya, had returned home from her daring siege of the north, and in every town and city across the homeland the people drank, danced and sang in celebration of her victory.
Endless streams of fireworks lit up the night sky, colourful parades marched through the streets, and children laughed and giggled as wily merchants dyed their hair golden blonde.
Wine and laughter flowed like water, and not one of Tanya's soldiers had to buy their own drinks.
High up in the royal palace the merriment had taken on a far more refined, though still every bit as debauched, air. Noble lords and ladies quaffed fine wine and gorged on entrées, whole exotic dancers glided around in bright, tight clothing.
The buzz of conversation hummed in the air, for gossip was the heart and soul of the palace intrigue, and it was no surprise to any who cared to eavesdrop whose name was on everyone's lips.
"... private investments in navy expeditions have been skyrocketing ever since Admiral Tanya-…"
"... but of course Tanya has always been a close friend of mine. I knew since I first laid eyes on her at her first tournament that-…"
"... son intends to seek her hand in marriage. I would never normally approve of a match with some peasant of course, but since it's Admiral Tanya we're talking about-..."
It seemed like the whole nation was united in adoration for their golden child. Yet there was one person in the royal palace who did not feel like celebrating. You would never tell it from looking at her, for she had long ago mastered the art of concealing her true emotions, but praise for the returning conqueror was the last thing on her mind.
Princess Azula was absolutely livid!
She had always hated Tanya. She'd hated her from the moment the straw-haired little upstart had begun stealing her thunder back at the tournament that was meant to be her debut.
By tying with Azula in the finals on that day, Tanya had created a dangerous impression in the minds of everyone who'd been watching: that the two of them were equals.
That a princess of the Fire Nation, who held the blood of countless Firelords and had been personally trained by the most elite teachers in the country, was an equal to some orphan charity case picked up by the Fire Sages
Father had been furious. He'd never said it, or outwards showed any signs, but Azula knew he was furious.
If the people got it into their heads that just any old urchin picked off the streets could match the heir to the throne, then eventually they'd start asking why the royal family deserved to be in charge in the first place. Fear was what kept people in their proper place, and Tanya's actions could serve to undermine that fear.
That was why father had gone out of his way to bind Tanya into her friendship group. Some people said that it was wise to keep your friends closer but your enemies closer, but they were wrong.
Father had shown her that your friends were your enemies, and would stab you in the back the moment they sensed weakness. By forcing Azula to take Tanya in as her 'friend', he was both punishing her for her failure and setting her the task through which she might redeem herself.
Either Azula was to establish herself as the dominant one in their 'friendship', gain Tanya as her own personal pawn and let everyone see that she was Tanya's superior, or she was to defeat and humiliate her so publicly, so embarrassingly, that none would ever dare think that the two of them were equals again.
And every time he'd invited Tanya to join them for dinner at the palace, dropped by to watch them sparring, or shared pieces of philosophy with her that he'd only told Azula before, he was subtly reminding Azula what would happen if she failed. Like her brother, she too could be cast aside if a more suitable heir presented itself.
So Azula had tried. By the spirits, how she had tried! On the surface she smiled and offered the meaningless platitude that friends did, but underneath she plotted and schemed, threw herself into her studies and training, and took every possible opportunity that presented itself to prove that she was better than Tanya.
She had to admit, having a proper rival had led her to discover a well of determination within herself greater than even she'd known she had. It let her keep standing just a little longer, fighting just a little harder, and persevering in the face of obstacles the old her might have given up on.
But it was never enough.
Every test she aced, Tanya aced too. Every fight she won would be followed by a loss the next time. Every challenge she overcame with cunning and guile, Tanya matched with strategy and brutality.
Like two snakes wrestling to eat the other they spun over and over in circles, outwardly keeping up the pretence of being friends, yet always looking for that fatal opening that would let them sink in their fangs.
Neither of them could pull ahead of the other, and it galled Azula to admit that it ran her ragged just trying to keep up.
Yet the one thing Azula had always clung onto, the one thing that reminded her that she really was superior no matter how many times the results suggested that she and Tanya were equal, was her birthright. She was a princess, next in line to be Firelord, and possessed all the benefits that title entailed.
Her words had an authority that none could match, and her heritage gave her respect and power over all the Fire Nation. People would bow and scrape at her passing. That was something that Tanya, being common-born, could never match.
Until she'd gone and made herself into a bloody war hero!
"Ladies and gentlemen!" The master of ceremonies announced, gesturing with one hand to the door behind him. "It is my great pleasure to announce the guest of honour. Please give a warm welcome home to the woman of the hour: the one and only Admiral Tanya!"
The crowd burst into applause as the door swung open with dramatic slowness, revealing the golden-haired girl in all her glory. Tanya's armour had been polished to the point that you could see reflections in it; the deep black and fiery crimson of the metal matched by a cape as red as wine, that flapped like a flag as she strode confidently forwards.
Azula seethed as she saw the naked awe and reverence in the eyes of the nobles around her. Who in the Fire Nation would refuse a request made of them by their greatest war hero? Who would not grovel for her attention, or tremble at her fury?
Tanya had found a way to get respect and authority close to that commanded by a princess, and had earned it through her own merit rather than have it handed to her. They had become more equal than ever now, and Azula loathed her for it.
"I've been too reactive, too content to wait for opportunities. I need to start earning my own achievements."
Golden eyes met her own, and Tanya politely excused herself from the mob of people swarming in to make connections with her and pushed her way over to Azula. As she approached, Azula's eyes darted over the pleasant smile that had come across Tanya's expression.
As usual she couldn't find a hint of falsehood to it, and if she didn't know better she might have thought that Tanya was being genuinely friendly. Tanya always had been just as good at disguising her real feelings behind the veneer of friendship as she was.
"Azula! It's good to see you again after so long." Tanya greeted, offering only a small bow. So the little upstart thought she could get away with such informality now that she was a hero, did she? Well, Azula had a few tricks prepared to take the wind out of her sails.
"Tanya. I always knew you'd come home safe and sound." Azula lied easily. "And just look at you. Only a few short years and you're already an admiral. That's got to be setting some kind of record."
Tanya laughed with false modesty. "What can I say? I got lucky I suppose. What about you? How have things been at the palace?"
Was that a subtle dig at her for staying safe at home? Oh, it was on! "Nothing much, just more training , studying and the usual politicking." Her lips curled into the smallest of smug sneers. "Although I did master the lightning generation technique. My instructors say I don't have a hair out of place."
Lightning generation was a technique that Tanya found herself unusually abysmal at. For whatever reason she seemed simply incapable of separating her positive and negative chi, and her attempts to do so in the past had usually blown up in her face.
It wasn't every day that Tanya discovered something she wasn't good at, so naturally Azula took every opportunity to rub her own natural talent for it in her face.
Tanya however did a perfect job of faking being impressed. "That's quite the achievement." She replied. "I was on the receiving end of a lightning bolt once. It did a real number on my arm. If it hit me in the chest I'd probably be dead."
"More's the pity it didn't then." Azula thought snidely.
"But that was done by a man so old he probably remembered the air nomads. I don't think anyone's master that technique before reaching adulthood." Tanya continued. "You really are incredible, Azula."
Incredible she says, at a party thrown in her honour for literally turning the moon off. What a condescending viper. "Oh please, we all know that if anyone's incredible around here, it's you." Azula replied with false sincerity. A devious smirk flashed across her lips.
"Although you should be careful. I've heard some nasty rumours floating around about you."
"Rumours?" Tanya asked.
"Yes. They arrived on shore when you did. Some of the soldiers who were present when you tried to capture the Avatar have been saying some pretty nasty things about you." Azula whispered conspiratorially.
"Apparently you admitted that The Avatar wasn't the one who actually murdered Admiral Zhao. They say that the one who confessed to being the true culprit was none other than yourself."
There! That fraction of a second when the shoulder tensed, the fleeting flash of panic in her eyes, was all the tell Azula needed to confirm the truth. So it really was true then? Straight-laced Tanya had murdered her own superior in order to usurp his position.
Father would be impressed. Yet it had been sloppy of her not to dispose of the soldiers who knew the truth, and now Azula had the perfect blackmail material to hold over her head.
If she didn't want her hard-won title of hero to turn into a mark of shame, Tanya would have no choice but to become her obedient little pet. Thank Agni she'd thought to embed a spy on Tanya's ship back when she'd first set sail.
"Few people have heard it right now, but nothing spreads faster than a nasty little rumour." Azula continued sarcastically. "I'd hate for an odious lie to stain your golden reputation. Would you like my help suppressing it? I know the right people to talk to in order to make this all go away."
The unspoken threat behind her words of course being, that with a word, she could have those same people inflame the rumours to the point that they reached every ear in the nation.
"... Azula-..." Tanya looked lost for words, and the princess of the Fire Nation bit back the urge to laugh in her face. They were at a party after all. Even so, it felt indescribably good to finally see her arch rival squirm!
"You're the best!"
...
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