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Captain Ayako was not going to panic. The Fire Lord was missing — on her watch. But panicking would not help.
Looking closely at the Fire Lord’s chamber she saw no signs of struggle or break-in; the guards in the outside hall heard no noises. A kidnapping was unlikely. The Fire Lord was a skilled fighter. Still, his absence was … troubling.
If anyone else discovered the Fire Lord missing, the Nation could easily descend into civil war.
Ayako was not going to panic; she was going to find him. A firm nod to herself, she turned away and exited the chambers; she knew what she had to do.
She found Guardsman Ichiro in the kitchens flirting with a messenger. When he saw her approach, he jumped to attention.
“Captain Ayako.” Ichiro said with a bow.
“Guardsman Ichiro, you will follow me.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m your superior officer and I’m telling you to. Messenger Tatsuo will still be here tomorrow.”
Ichiro started spluttering, but Ayako just turned and began walking back to the Fire Lord’s chambers. Ichiro’s spluttering followed her.
Once they were inside the Fire Lord’s chamber, Ayako turned to Ichiro and said, “Track the Fire Lord.”
“Track the Fire Lord? Why? He’s missing?”
Ayako scowled, “Stop talking and start tracking; this isn’t time for dawdling.”
Ichiro stops talking and does what he does best. If he wasn’t so good at what he does, Ayako would be convinced he was taking her on a wild goose-tortoise chase. They went over roof tops, over the palace walls, down back alleys. Ayako’s glare stopped anybody who thought to interfere.
Eventually, the trail ended at an open market place. Captain Ayako scanned the early-morning crowd until her eyes sharpened on her person of interest. She marched up to Fire Lord Zuko, gave a low bow, and said, “Your Majesty.”
The Fire Lord’s eyes widened, “Uh, nope, sorry you got the wrong person.” The Fire Lord gave an awkward laugh, ruffled his hair, and continued, “Don’t worry common mistake, because of the scar, but nope, no Fire Lord Zuko here. If you’ll excuse me, honored guards, I have to finish my shopping?”
Ayako stared at Fire Lord Zuko in disbelief. What in Agni’s name was he trying to pull; he is a terrible liar.
Ichiro broke in, “what shopping?”
The Fire Lord, clearly the Fire Lord, hesitated before responding, “Rice, for you know, the lunch I am going to make myself to take to my totally normal, non-royal job.”
Ayako’s eyebrows involuntarily rose, “Your Majesty, whatever you have to do, we would be glad to accompany you. No one will hear about it from us; you have the Home Guard’s complete loyalty. If anything has caused you to doubt that, please allow me the opportunity to fix that doubt.”
“No! No, no. I, …. This was a test! That you passed. Congratulations, Captain Ayako, Guardsman Ichiro.”
“A test… . I see,” Captain Ayako did not see. “Perhaps then, since we have passed this test, if you desire to perform another such test in the future, we could accompany you while other guards have the honor to pass such a test.”
“Oh… . Good suggestion, but I really think it is best if no one knows when I plan to conduct these tests.”
“Your Majesty, leaving without any forewarning to the guards, it will appear as though you have gone missing; going missing will likely cause panic among the people.”
The Fire Lord gave another pause, “Good point. But, since you now know of these tests Captain Ayako, if anyone comes to you and I appear to be missing, you can tell them not to panic. So… We should get back to the palace, before anyone panics.”
“Of course, Your Majesty, you are very wise.”