The first few legs of his journey started out normal enough.

Nearly two weeks at sea, where his invincible ironclad stomach was put to the test.

Surrounded by faceless soldiers and sailors. No one he would ever willingly talk to, of course.

Nationalists and suckups, the lot of them.

He busied himself with firebending, and no one was surprised.

Then two weeks and change spent traveling by foot.

Well, partly by foot.

For the first few days he was sequestered off into a lavish and princely carriage which he despised, but walking had very quickly gotten old.

Honestly, Earth Kingdom roads were the worst.

Talk about irony.

The fact that it was actually occupied Earth Kingdom wasn't lost on him.

He just wanted to bitch about something.

After walking lost its rugged charm, he had settled for commandeering the front of the carriage.

Still awful.

But not as bad as sitting inside.

The stink-eye he had gotten from the coachman was hilarious, and his one-sided conversation with the dragon moose pulling him along had been lovely.

He had needed some kind of distraction.

Call it paranoia, but he was starting to feel twitchy.

Always looking around with narrowed eyes.

Waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The farther out into Earth Kingdom he got, the more on edge he felt.

His guard detail would switch up whenever he changed hands.

Once when his ship made port in one of the colonies.

Once more after reaching some landmark town.

Then every so often after that, he'd once again find himself in the company of completely different soldiers.

They were weird.

And they only got weirder every time Iroza was handed off.

His guard details became less rigid, looser, and likely to chitchat on duty.

Their arms and armor were older and in less than pristine condition.

They were... Casual.

It was creepy and he didn't like it.

Fire Nation soldiers were meant to be infallible, silent, and intimidating.

These guys might as well have been cosplayers.

It was definitely suspicious.

Iroza quickly learned to sleep with one eye open, as it were.

What was the play here?

Would it be an assassination attempt?

A slit throat by night and a body thrown into a river by morning?

Poison was possible.

Kidnapping... Doubtful, but not something he could dismiss out of hand.

It wasn't paranoia if someone really was out to get him.

And his father was out to get him.

Probably.

The slimy bastard.

He eventually realized what was happening, though it did take a lot longer than he was comfortable admitting.

Much as Iroza hated giving the man any credit, Ozai's plan was faily ingenious.

Send his troublesome son deep into occupied Earth Kingdom.

Stationed in a backwater city.

A backwater province, really.

Nowhere near the fabled oity of Ba Sing Se, but close enough to its territories that it wasnt too obvious that the prince was being gently ushered out of the way.

Everywhere Iroza looked, he saw towns and villages that had been flying Fire Nation colors for well over twenty years.

Maybe longer.

This wasn't truly Fire Nation territory.

Heck, it might never be.

Locals were all too stubborn.

But it wasn't exactly being fought over at the moment, either.

No signs of recent battles, no glory to be won, and no obvious way to prove himself worthy of mastery by participating in the war with Earth Kingdom.

The whole official reason he had been sent out in the first place.

That was most likely the point.

Yet even that realization wasnt enough for him to put his guard down.

Not entirely, at any rate.

Sure, the assignment was innocuous enough.

But this was still contested territory.

He was miles and miles from home, surrounded by strangers and foreigners.

Weird strangers, at that.

Azula wasnt there for him to jape and talk with, and any letters he wrote had to be formal in the extreme.

Doubtless, they were all being read by Ozai or at least reported to him.

Her letters were equally formal, which was as much confirmation as he needed.

Correspondence with Azula was still something he looked forward to, despite their lack of overt personality.

Azula had a way with words, such that she more than managed to call him a crazed buffoon with the blandest, most inconspicuous language possible.

In comparison, his own responding letter could be aptly summed up as 'no, you Not very articulate, but very effective in annoying her.

And really, that was its own reward.

After over a month of nonstop travel, he finally arrived at Wan Bhing.

The journey was basically over.

And as he laid eyes upon the city for the first time, he could only think of one thing to say.

"What a shithole."

He heard some offended grumbling from some of his soldier escorts, but their opinions meant less than nothing to him.

Besides, it was true.

Time spent occupied by the Fire Nation had not been kind to Wan Bhing.

He snorted.

Almost a full century of war hadnt been kind to anyone.

But being so close to it had taken its toll here.

True; the high stone walls that were customary of Earth Kingdom cities, whitewashed with limestone every five or so years, were quite the sight to behold.

From a distance.

But as his party approached the gates, the cracks were already starting to show.

Iroza ignored the worried glances he got as he cackled.

It was a strange problem to have, he mused.