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Before he went down to the kitchens to get the prince's breakfast tray, Guoliang paused to look out at the great courtyard that had held yesterday's dramatic Agni Kai.
Scorch marks everywhere. Whole patches of wall burnt clear through. Fallen tiles, dried watermarks on paving stones - it would take days to clean it all up. They'd be lucky to get it back in usable condition before the coronation.
He shook his head slowly. He'd never thought he would see Princess Azula beaten at anything, and even less had he thought Prince Zuko would be the one to administer the beat-down.
Well, Prince Zuko and the water tribe girl.
When he'd first seen the little slip of a thing, in her simple blue dress and loose, wild hair, he'd wondered why Prince Zuko had brought her just to be turned into a charred lump of corpse. Poor thing couldn't be a day over sixteen. But she had fought at Zuko's side and both of them had come out the victors.
He'd never known waterbenders could fight like that. Almost as ferocious as fire.
And people were already whispering about how Prince Zuko had leapt into the path of his sister's lightning for her.
He'd definitely thought the prince was done for, then. But the waterbender had defeated Azula and then done something to the prince that the physicians and healers were all still gasping about, hours later. And Prince Zuko had gotten to his feet and taken the whole palace, every minister and flunky and factotum, neatly in hand, and the end of it all was that they were going to have another coronation.
He'd come to look at the courtyard this morning to make sure it had all actually happened. But yes, it seemed that it was true.
The kitchens hustled with activity and tense, uncertain chatter. In the space of a day, the Fire Nation had turned on its pins. The Avatar had taken out the Fire Lord; Princess Azula was locked away. Nobody could have predicted this.
Guoliang focused on what he knew how to do. Prince Zuko had always liked an early breakfast. Like most firebenders, he rose with the sun. Tea, toasted bread, and chili jam were usually enough for him.
A trainee ladies' maid named Min-Min grabbed his arm. "Guoliang, help," she hissed. "They want me to see to the water tribe girl. What does she want?"
"I don't know. Seal-whale-blubber soup?" Didn't polar savages eat things like that?
"We don't have seal-whale blubber," she whimpered. "She defeated the princess. What will she do to me if I get it wrong?"
He sighed. "I hear waterbenders prefer the moon. Maybe she sleeps late. I'll have a look after I'm done with the prince."
"Would you?" she said piteously.
He patted her arm.
He let himself into the prince's room as quietly as possible, glancing at the bed to see if the prince was awake yet.
Prince Zuko was sprawled in a tumble of blankets. But he wasn't alone.
The waterbender girl was there too, her hair spilled in a pool of waves on the pillows and over the prince's naked chest, her shoulder bare under the prince's arm.
While he gaped, the prince's eyes blinked open. Then went wide.
He braced himself. The prince had never been one for blasting fire at those who displeased him, but he did shout and throw things.
But to Guoliang's astonishment, the prince very carefully pressed the first finger of his free hand to his lips, in a very clear shush gesture. Then he flicked his hand at the door, then held up his hand, fingers spread wide.
Five minutes.
Guoliang nodded frantically and backed out again. Then, overcome by curiosity, he waited just outside the door.
"Katara," the prince said. "Hey. Wake up."
The waterbender girl said, "mmmgnhhhh."
"No, come on, wake up. You should get back to your own bed before the servants bring breakfast."
More rustling and soft grumbling.
"Here's your robe. Okay." Their voices got a little louder, as if he was walking her to the door. Guoliang eased back around the corner.
"Wait," she said, and there were soft sounds of cloth rustling.
Guoliang leaned against the wall, rolling his eyes. They were probably having one last kiss.
It was very sweet, certainly, but this damn tray wasn't getting any lighter.
"I don't know what today's going to look like," the prince said very softly. "But - we'll talk later, okay?"
"Okay."
She eased out the door, and promptly stepped on one of the singing floorboards. She whispered something that sounded like a waterbender curse. She looked up and spotted Guoliang, who tried to look as if he were asleep or possibly blind.
Girl in the corridor? What girl in the corridor? He didn't see any girl in the -
"Oh, good morning," she said.
He swallowed, watching her hard for hints of rage or ice daggers or one of those water whips, or - "Good morning. Miss."
"I just went out for a nice, uh, a nice morning stroll. It's so nice and cool out there, isn't it?"
He looked at her in blank shock for a moment. It was sticky and humid and was already shaping up to be a day from Agni's asscrack.
But she looked shy and nervous - a little slip of a thing, like he'd first thought. Polite and personable to someone she had no need to be that way to. And yet, tough as nails, tough enough to beat Azula into a screaming impotent fit.
It wasn't a combination he had much experience with, in the royal palace.
At last, he nodded. "Very fine weather for a morning walk, miss."
"It sure is," she said. "Well, I'm going to go back to bed, and you have a nice day."
"Certainly, miss."
He nudged the door of the prince's room open and slipped in. The prince was pretending to sleep. Guoliang was careful not to roll his eyes until his back was turned.
He puttered around, setting the components of the prince's breakfast on his usual table, pulling out a set of new clothing. He checked the tunic, shook his head, and switched it for one with a bit more give in the shoulders. The prince had only been gone for a few months, but he'd filled out somewhat. They'd need to bring in the tailors.
But, no. Prince Zuko was going to be the Fire Lord. They'd be bringing in all the palace regalia makers.
Behind him, the prince yawned theatrically and climbed out of bed. "Guoliang?"
He turned and bowed, careful not to meet his eyes. "Yes, your majesty."
"There's no need to say anything to anybody about - um - anyone you might have seen this morning besides me."
He met his prince's eyes for a moment that felt like lightning singing down his spine. "I only saw you this morning, your majesty."
"Ah," the prince said. "Yes. Of course. That is all you saw."
"Yes." He brought the tunic and pants to him. "Will this suit?"
"Yes," he said, "fine. Thank you."
Guoliang almost dropped the tunic at being thanked by a member of the royal family.
He helped him dress. Prince Zuko kept reaching for clothing before Guoliang had a hand on it, shrugging into it with the ease of a young man who'd thrown on whatever clothing was necessary before moving on with his day. This was different, too.
"Your majesty? I do have a question from the kitchens."
"Mmm? Yes?"
"Your . . . guest."
The prince's eyes snapped to his, and he almost took a step backward. Agni, but he looked like his father in that moment.
"Yes," the prince said, low, a tone of warning in the syllable.
"The one who slept in the rose suite all last night," Guoliang said, as delicately as possible.
The warning eased, but the prince said, "Yes," again.
"Do you have an idea - I - that is - what she might like for breakfast?"
He stared for a moment, blinking, then shook his head. "Uh, well, Katara's not picky, we all sort of - this should be fine." He gestured to his own breakfast. "Maybe not chili jam," he added as an afterthought. "She's not a fan of spice."
He bowed. "Yes, your majesty."
He hustled back to the kitchen as fast as he could. Min-Min was still dithering over the offerings, looking ever closer to a panic attack at the prospect of being summarily drowned for offering the wrong kind of jam to the waterbender girl.
Katara, Guoliang reminded himself. Maybe they should be calling her Lady Katara. Was she nobility? Did they have nobility in the savage frozen wastes?
"Min-Min," he said firmly. "Jie will be seeing to the waterbender. You can go back to your other duties."
"Oh," she gasped, not bothering to question it. "Oh, thank you!"
He went and found Jie, cleaning some of the mess that Azula had left behind in a royal receiving room yesterday. "Hey," he said. "Come with me. You need to see to the waterbender girl."
"What, on top of everything else?" she grumbled. "Why?" But she tossed aside a broom that she was using to sweep up some scattered glass.
He tugged her around a corner and said in a low voice, "Because if you remember, she kicked Azula's ass yesterday."
Jie looked a little mollified at that. Azula had banished her sister from the palace yesterday morning, and while that was probably null and void now, Jie had still cheered loudly when the waterbender girl had encased Azula in a prison of water.
"And," Guoliang went on. "I walked into the prince's rooms this morning and found her with him."
Her brows went up. "Well well, " she said.
"Exactly. And his Shouty Majesty himself thanked me this morning."
"Thanked you!"
"Thanked me. On top of all that business yesterday. Have you ever seen him firebend like that? So powerful, so in control? And the way he took everything in hand afterwards?"
"He has changed. You think it's because of her?"
"I can't say, but I saw her in the corridor, and do you know what she said to me?"
"She talked to you?"
"She said good morning and have a nice day, and also tried to convince me that she'd been out for a morning walk."
Jie's mouth fell open. "Agni's spark," she murmured. "This court is going to eat that girl alive."
"Only if you don't help her out. Now come along." He shoved the tray into her hands. "Take her breakfast and then bring your cosmetics case and a likely dress. I don't know how long she's going to be here, but if she's responsible for the way the prince has grown up in the past few months, I'll be spit-roasted in Agni's kitchens before I let her have a single bad day in this palace."
"You and me both," she said grimly, grabbing the tray. "I've got something in a beautiful purple that should do."
He watched her go, smiling to himself.
Yes, everything had suddenly changed in the Fire Nation. But maybe that wasn't a bad thing.
FINIS