Chapter 12: Matrimony Rushed
The Hall of Clouds remained aglow with the warm hum of controlled festivity. Lanterns swung lazily on silk cords, casting gentle waves of amber light across polished wood and newly laundered robes. The hum of stringed instruments continued to pluck away the tension in the air as dancers began their slow entrance in preparation for a ceremonial performance.
But near the farthest edge of the hall, half-shadowed by a thick support beam and the curtain of incense smoke, a figure stood motionless, unseen and unacknowledged. His hood was pulled low, face obscured, posture hunched just slightly, not from submission, but from practiced stillness. He watched the couples stand. Watched the prince speak. Watched the room bow.
He didn't blink.
The speech ended. The fire crackled.
The figure took a slow, silent step backward… then another. Then, slipping just outside the frame of attention, he turned and vanished through the northern exit, where the light of day spilled hot and unwelcome across the stone.
The midday sun burned overhead, cruel and unwavering. The figure moved with swift purpose, dark robes trailing behind him like a streak of soot against green.
No one followed.
No one even noticed.
Villagers bustled through the square, children playing near the rebuilt market stands. Fishermen sat under the shade of tarps mending nets, and several Fire Nation soldiers passed him with nods of disinterest. The robed figure didn't slow. He turned down a narrow stone path and vanished from sight before anyone registered his presence.
He didn't stop until the village was no longer visible behind him. The slope turned steep, the trail narrowed, and soon only mountain and wind remained.
Down the spine of the Kyoshi cliffs he ran, nimble and sure-footed as a hawk-hound. His boots barely disturbed the gravel. His breaths were shallow, efficient. He reached the overgrown descent toward the eastern dock in less than half an hour.
Below, a series of carved steps hugged the mountainside, leading to a quiet, private dock, overgrown with seaweed-covered posts and half-rotted planks. A lone boat awaited there, a black paddle skiff, low to the water, moored to a mossy stump.
The figure stepped In without hesitation.
And began to paddle.
The waters off Kyoshi Island were deceptively calm. Pale jade waves curled lazily beneath the boat, reflecting the sunlight in fractured prisms. The wind offered no resistance, and even the gulls remained silent. The figure rowed with steady, mechanical rhythm, each stroke precise, his breath never faltering.
Minutes passed.
Then tens of minutes.
Then an hour.
His back never slouched. His arms never slowed.
And then, on the eastern horizon, a shadow emerged. First as a speck. Then a silhouette. Then a dark, jagged ship, larger than any merchant vessel, rising from the sea like a floating wound.
The skiff drifted closer.
Barnacles lined the hull. Rusted iron studs dotted the stern. Torn black sails, stitched with gold teeth and serpent motifs, flapped like the wings of vultures. The pirate ship bore no flag, only the burnished emblem of a bleeding coin held between fangs.
Two sailors at the gunwale spotted the approaching skiff. One grunted. The other spat. Without a word, they tossed a thick rope net down.
The figure climbed.
Effortlessly.
And with no greeting, no announcement, he stepped aboard and walked the deck as if it were his own.
The crew, a slithering, ragged assortment of buccaneers, deserters, and outlaws, paid him little mind. Some offered nods. Others stepped aside. The stench of sweat, salt, and old blood clung to every inch of wood. Above, a harpy's cage rattled with the wind. Below, hatches groaned with shifting weight.
The man moved through the deck like a shadow returned to roost.
He descended the lower stairwell, then passed two guards without a glance. Finally, he reached a heavy iron door framed in dark wood, its hinges thick, its surface scarred with the marks of old blades.
He entered without knocking.
The room was dark. No windows. Only a few hanging lanterns and a single desk carved from shipwreck wood, its surface cluttered with faded maps, stained letters, and half-melted wax.
A throne-like chair faced the opposite direction, high-backed and crimson-leathered. A slow column of smoke rose from behind it, thick, curling, pungent with the oily burn of a black cigar.
The voice came low, gravel-pitched.
"Speak."
The robed figure bowed his head.
"Captain. It is as you suspected."
A pause.
"The summons to Kyoshi Island, it was all a ploy. A smokescreen by General Fong of the Earth Kingdom. The Fire Nation wasn't trying to seize the island militarily. They were trying to hide the fact that they already have. The General was trying to weaken their hold on the island by using us."
Another drag of the cigar. Another exhale.
"Who showed up?" the voice asked, unmoved. The chair remained turned away.
"Two pirate captains, Shinu and Rodko. Their crews stormed the island weeks ago. Shinu came from the western cove. Rodko from the beach cliffs. They thought the village would be weak, open, divided."
A beat.
"They were wrong."
The chair remained still.
"The Fire Nation forces there, small in number, but efficient. I saw it myself. Lieutenant Commander Jee led one defense. Wiped out Shinu's advance with a fire circle. An ensign Lee, I believe dealt with Rodko's men by luring them into a bluff collapse. Ruthless. Surgical. The crews didn't stand a chance."
"And now?" the voice rasped, still calm.
"Now… the Fire Nation holds Kyoshi."
The robed figure leaned forward.
"Not exactly, Prince Zuko holds it. Personally. It is not Fire Lord Ozai's flag flying over the village, Captain. It is his son's seal. No orders came from the capital. No fleet commands. This is a private occupation."
The chair remained still, but the cigar paused.
The figure continued, voice low and careful. "The villagers swore fealty not to the Fire Nation. They swore to him. And he's marrying his officers into their warrior caste. Five of them. Official unions. Tying the land to his blood. He's not building a camp."
The voice behind the chair didn't move.
"He is building for himself a throne."
The silence was deafening.
Then, slowly… the chair turned.
Leather groaned.
And for the first time, the pirate captain revealed his face.
A tower of a man, with broad shoulders, a long dark mane of tangled brown hair, rings pierced through both ears, and a brutal scar running across his collarbone. His jaw was square, his stubble patchy, his lips curled around a thick cigar. He wore the traditional garb of a high sea raider, blackened coat with red silk lining, sharkbone belt, and an old Earth Kingdom saber strapped to his back.
He was grinning. But there was no joy in it.
"So that brat is taking the island for himself."
The robed figure nodded. "This is not the same Zuko we fought in Shu Jing. Or in the Maelstrom Straits. That Zuko was angry. Lost. Predictable. This one… calculates. Commands. Inspires. Rumors say he bends like no one's seen before. They say he even speaks with Avatars now."
The captain exhaled, smoke curling from his nostrils.
"So he's got a backbone now. Good. Makes this more interesting."
He stood.
And the deck seemed to groan under his weight.
"Tell the crew. Full sail. We head for Kyoshi."
The figure hesitated. "You plan to… parley?"
The captain grinned wider. "No. I plan to meet this new prince. Face to face. And find out…"
He stepped past the map table and toward the porthole, the ocean's reflection gleaming in his eyes.
"…if he's a king in the making…"
His hand clenched around the saber hilt.
"Or a boy playing war."
---
A hush lingered over the Hall of Clouds like the smoke from a burned offering. The last echo of Zuko's words still floated in the air, heavy and transformative. The couples before him remained standing, still absorbing the speech that had redefined their place in the world.
Behind the line of warriors and soldiers, the villagers were slow to rise, knees stiff, spines hesitant, as if afraid that standing upright might invite the Fire Prince's gaze. Servants remained frozen mid-step. Musicians had quietly let their final notes die off. Even Akari had yet to shift from her rigid posture beside the dais.
Zuko stood at the center of it all, flame and silence wrapped in human form.
Then, his voice cut again.
Sharp. Cold.
"Now that I am here, everything will be settled."
The room barely had time to blink.
"Cancel all other activities. No more performances. No dances. No ceremonial nonsense."
He turned on his heel, his cloak trailing like a shadow through blood.
"The weddings are to be held now. Here. Today. In this hall. Before this sun sets."
The words hit the room like a gong. Conversations erupted all at once, clashing voices, gasps, scrambling servants, elders murmuring, warriors stiffening.
And from Zuko's left, Mayor Hanoo stood abruptly, his chair nearly toppling behind him.
"Your Highness, surely you jest. The weddings? Now? Today? We've scheduled the ceremonies for the solstice. There are rituals, vows to be inscribed, garments to be sewn. Musicians must rehearse the ancestral procession…"
Zuko turned his head slightly. Not fully. Just enough for his eye, burned, sharp, golden, to cut Hanoo down mid-sentence.
"I don't have the time."
Hanoo blinked, caught off guard by the finality.
Zuko stepped closer to the dais, his voice low, but amplified by tension.
"I will be departing this island soon. There are forces moving in the outer seas, movements I can't ignore. I will not be delayed by pleasantries, tradition, or your village's schedule."
He walked past the couples, gesturing for the aides to begin clearing the feast tables.
"The marriages are binding by my decree. What remains is ceremony. So we will hold ceremony. Now."
Hanoo's brow furrowed, his voice turning from panic to protest. "But your Highness, families must be notified. Robes must be blessed. The temple priest is still preparing the shrines…"
"Then he'll bless them here," Zuko snapped. "In this hall. With fire as his altar and Kyoshi's own warriors as witness."
He turned to Commander Jee. "Send runners. Have the officiants brought immediately. All five marriage pairs are to be sealed before nightfall. Those not ready to honor their vows will be removed from the arrangement."
Jee nodded, stepping into action without hesitation, already signaling to Rin and the aides.
Hanoo stepped forward, his voice harder now. "Prince Zuko, this is not how we do things. These are our daughters. Our traditions. You can't just…"
Zuko spun to face him fully now. The fire was in his eyes. Not as flame, but as something worse, will.
"I already did."
The silence returned, heavier than before.
Zuko stepped onto the center dais, lifting his voice so the hall once again bent to it.
"You want to survive. I gave you that. You want your children protected. I gave you that. You want freedom from Earth Kingdom raids and Fire Nation purges. I gave you all of that."
His tone sharpened.
"But you don't get to ask for everything. Not now. Not after what's already been spilled."
He turned to the couples again.
"These unions are more than oaths. They are the nails in the spine of an empire. You will walk from this hall joined, or you will not walk out with my protection."
Hinaro's hand twitched. Her mouth opened to speak. But the look she caught from Akari silenced her.
Mayor Hanoo stared hard at Zuko, jaw clenched, fingers gripping his sash. For a moment, the fire of a father, a statesman, a man whose people had just bent the knee to a foreign crown, flared in his eyes.
Then it faded.
He bowed. Slow. Bitter. But full.
"As you command, Your Highness."
Zuko didn't nod. He simply turned away.
Aides and soldiers began clearing space at the center of the hall. Furniture was removed. Flower stands repositioned. Silk runners, green and red, were laid over the newly polished stone. The musicians returned quietly to their instruments and began a slow, somber march tune instead of the festive fanfare originally planned.
The brides and their partners were escorted aside to be redressed in the ceremonial robes already prepared, albeit intended for a different day. What was meant to be weeks away was now crashing down on them like a tidal wave made of orders.
Zuko stood again near the throne, hands folded behind his back, watching it all come together with the quiet control of a man who had already calculated every outcome.
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