Calling upon years of practice, he stood up, straightened his back, and eased a smile onto his face that made him look about three years younger and far nicer than he was.

Boyish, but still refined.

His best Zuko impersonation.

Well.. Pre-burning Zuko, maybe.

Iroza didnt know for sure, but he doubted his brother had much to smile about these days.

He shook his head.

Not the time to daydream about his brother's seven seas cruise.

As Ji respectfully gestured for him to take his place in the spotlight, Iroza firmly pulled his mind back into the present and stepped out of the carriage.

A princely and naive smile on his face, his eyes full of wonder, anda song in his heart.

Not that it mattered at first.

Everyone was silent and bowing deep and low.

No one was looking up to appreciate his flawless facade.

It was proper etiquette for receiving royalty.

Eerie as ever, but proper.

Walking forward, up several shallow tiers of stairs, he approached who he assumed to be the general.

Still bowing, all of them.

A woman was especially close to him, but behind and to the side.

His wife, maybe.

Iroza didnt pay her much mind, let alone the rest of the nobles.

They were all arrayed behind Rama, likely sorted by rank and favor.

Some even had their kids with them.

As he idly looked around at the bowed heads, he paused.

That head of black hair was weirdly familiar.

Was that.?

Someone cleared their throat softly from the crowd.

He couldn't tell who it was, but it brought him back to the moment.

Damn.

Good job not getting distracted, dummy.

"Please. Rise, General Rama."

With a grunt, the general rose to his feet, followed by his retinue and the delegation of nobles.

Was that the proper thing to say?

Maybe not.

He was still a little distracted.

If anyone noticed, they wisely said nothing of it.

Oh, look at the young prince!

He's so awed and flustered by our impressive courtyard formation and decadent festival.

He's so cute and naive.

We must be making him oh so nervous.

Iroza hated them already and had half a mind to write them all off as suckups and title-seekers.

Then he got a good second look at them.

Not to say that he went slackjawed.

No, he wasnt that careless.

His royal posh demeanor did waver the tiniest bit, though.

He wasnt quite sure what, but something had distracted him.

Again.

Damn fatigue.

The nobles were all fairly standard fare, as far as nobles went.

Defirnitely lower-tier, by Fire Nation standards.

But this was occupied Earth Kingdom, so perhaps that was to be expected.

Even General Rama himself wasn't much to look at.

Portly, thinly bearded and bald-headed, slightly taller than Iroza, and looking both too-serious and on the verge of laughing at a moment's notice.

Despite himself, Iroza continued to zone out through their brief conversation.

"An honor to meet you, my father has said nothing but praise for your administration, yada yada."

At some point Rama picked up on his wandering atterntion, asking him if he was well.

Iroza chuckled nervously. "Aha. My apologies, general. The road has left me weary. I fear I wont make for very good company at the moment."

Good excuse, brain.

A pause, then Rama laughed a boisterous laugh. "Of oourse! How foolish of me. How shortsighted! A month of travel from the capital. It's been so long, Ive forgotten what kind of toll that trip takes on a man. Your room has already been prepared, meeting only our highest standards. As is worthy

of a prince."

Iroza valiantly resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

Laying it on a bit thick, eh Rama?

"We hope you will recover soon. Then we can proceed with our plans," he said.

Right.

That sounded important.

Iroza tilted his head at him. "Which plans are those? I don't believe I was informed."

"The plans for the feast!" he said, smiling wide and spreading his arms.

"Preparations are well underway and should be finished within the week. Enough time for you to get your bearings. As well as a bit of sleep, eh?"

"Feast?" Iroza repeated, feeling faint and determined not to show it.

Yeah.

He definitely wasn't informed.

Rama nodded firmly. "In honor of your arrival, naturally. I hope it's a pleasant surprise, though I may have fumbled the delivery." He looked over and gestured to the woman behind him. "Just as well I wasnt overseeing the details of it all myself! That duty was taken up by my lady wife, Yzoko. She's done a marvelous job, as youll see when the feast takes place."

Iroza turned and offered her a polite bow and words of thanks, even as he was tearing his hair out on the inside.

"I was all too happy to take up the task" she said demurely, smiling slightly at her husband. "Especially in light of occasion. A special announcement for the feast, wasnt it?"

He grumbled.

"Would this be about my position in your ranks, general?"

Iroza asked, struggling to contain his curiosity.

And his exasperation.

Yes, he said, shooting a half-hearted scowl at his wife.

She stifled a laugh and looked away. "But no more early surprises! Well do this all properly, as is done in the capital."He paused, giving Iroza a hesitant look. "Unless you would prefer to know now, your grace?"

Iroza struggled.

He really did.

Everything about this feast sounded awful, and he really wanted to get his appointment out of the way so he could finally jump into his role as.

Whatever his role was.

But, unfortunately, his burning desire clashed with common sense and etiquette.

After what felt like an age, he shook his head. "I'll play along. Wait until the feast, as you planned. I'm sure it will be a wonderful affair. I can hardly wait!"

Being cheerful was harder than he thought.

It seemed to work, though.

General Rama brightened immediately.

"It will be the talk of the province. No, the whole of Fire Nation! Youll not be disappointed, Prince Iroza. Just you wait and see, this festival was only the beginning!"

With that, he hobbled off.

Iroza only now recognized that he favored his right leg, and felt a little foolish for keeping them all bowing for so long.

Oh well.

Yzoko bowed and called for their best guards to escort him to his chambers, before following after Rama.

With that, the nobles began to disperse.

A few of them seemed to consider approaching him for the time-honored tradition of being deplorable suckups, and one or two did manage to gather enough courage to offer some quick greetings.

But it seems the majority of them got the memo that the prince was tired, and most likely not in the mood.

Wise choice, lads.

Now that he could take a second to breathe, he had another look at the nobles and their families.

Passing glances, no lingering looks.

Nothing to give them the impression he was looking at them in particular.

Just a scan, to make sure he wasn't crazy.

Ah.

Yep.

He wasnt crazy.

There she was, standing with her family and trying to look like she wasnt with them.

It was improper to stare, and doubly so to stare at royalty, but he caught her glancing his way once or twice.

She would noticed his look as well, judging by how she turned away and crossed her arms.

He sighed.

Tossing a few polite words of farewell to whoever had been talking at him, he turned and made his way up the rest of the steps towards the mansion.

His two newly assigned escorts trailed behind him, only speaking in short sentences when he asked for directions.

Probably the best of the lot, going by Iroza's impressions of the rank and file so far.

As he walked, he brooded.

He also started dictating an annoyed letter to Azula in his head.

It was just one thing after another, wasn't it? Sent from home ona week's notice.

Amonth of traveling with no one to talk to.

Not enough time to make any real progress with his bending.

And now he was here in Wan Bhing, ready to take up his duties and prove himself so he could go home.

Now he had to wait a week to even find out what those duties were And that would only be after this feast they were planning.

Probably the best of the lot, going by Iroza's impressions of the rank and file so far.

As he walked, he brooded.

He also started dictating an annoyed letter to Azula in his head.

lt was just one thing after another, wasnt it?

Sent from home ona week's notice.

A month of traveling with no one to talk to.

Not enough time to make any real progress with his bending.

And now he was here in Wan Bhing, ready to take up his duties and prove himself so he could go home.

Now he had to wait a week to even find out what those duties were And that would only be after this feast they were planning.

This wasnt even a proper military deployment, and yet it was already the worst field trip iroza had ever been on.

Whatever.

Another week, and he could finally start doing something.

He could handle that.

In the meantime, he could rest up and train his bending.

Enough to pass the time, at least.

Heck.

If he got really bored, he could explore a little.

Get the lay of the land.

Get a feel for the situation.

Maybe even talk to some of the people in charge to see how things were run around the city.

Or he could talk to Mai.

He cringed.

No, really.

lt would be good to catch up, see how she and her family had been doing.

It would be fine.

Probably.

Ugh.

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This story doesn't belong to me. Credits to the respective author.

AN: Not a Mai pairing. Ty Lee is doing circus stuff and Azula wasnt there in person to ask bully her into saying yeah. So she asked Mai (via letter) and Mai is bored so she said sure.

Not spoilery.