Chapter 6

Part 1

As Iroza approached the perimeter of the General's mansion, after grabbing a cloak to blend into the crowds more, he suppressed the scowl that he instinctively reached for and tried to look somewhat respectful of the... Guards.

The soldiers posted at the entrance went rigid at his approach.

One of them stepped forward, bowing stiffly.

"Supreme Royal Adjutant," he said, and Iroza wondered if any of the rank and file knew how ridiculous his title sounded. "Are you on assignment from General Rama?"

Iroza nodded. "Letters. Nothing I can't handle, of course."

Probably best to cut off any attempts to offload his work, while also not being a suspicious weirdo about it.

"Of course. If you intend to deliver them personally, I can arrange for an escort."

Oh joy, that was even worse.

He shook his head, striking a balancing act of boredom and impatience that he was well-practiced in. "Courier duty is a dull affair. None of these letters are to any seedy parts of the city. I'll manage quite well on my own."

The man hesitated, and Iroza was unsurprised.

"Are you very sure, your grace?Representative Ji has made it clear that-"

Iroza clicked his tongue, glaring at the man who quickly stopped talking.

"Representative Ji and I both take orders from the General, soldier. I am operating under General Rama's orders, not Representative Ji's. That should be enough for you."

After a short pause, the guard quickly stepped back and bowed.

"My deepest apologies, Supreme Royal Adjutant. I did not mean to question your authority."

Liar.

"Think nothing of it," Iroza said with a gracious nod.

With that, he continued on his way, mustering all of his self-control to not look back and see if they were staring at him, or if someone was following him despite his orders.

Not yet, anyway.

He took a few moments to calm down and breathe once he was out of sight of the mansion, even as he kept walking.

Slowly.

Subtly.

Not gasping for air.

There were still people around.

Flexing his authority.

Not something he was eager to do.

Every time he did it, he felt every second of that pause.

The hesitation from them.

Where they decided if they could ignore or misinterpret his orders.

Where they thought about if they could go ask someone with real authority.

Every time, it was a pit in his stomach.

Sure, it worked this time.

But next time..

Iroza shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose.

There would be plenty of time to think about hidden betrayals later.

That was the entire point of this outing, after all.

But for now, it was only a distraction.

He snorted.

There were plenty of other distractions to focus on.

Issues.

Well, calling them issues was premature.

More like obstacles.

There were obstacles.

First and foremost.

He couldn't open the letter that had caught his eye.

The one with the non-standard seal and the unusual recipient.

He couldnt open it without making it incredibly obvious that it had been tampered with.

And him being the courier, it wouldn't be hard to figure out who did it.

Whether or not he could open it wasn't in question.

But what would come of it?

Would he be scolded?

Made to do grunt work?

Given that he was a prince, and here by order of the Fire Lord, he might predict nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

In theory, his station should afford him some amount of immunity.

No discharge, no grueling punishments.

But here?

The dread he felt and the tensing of his chest immediately put him off of the idea.

No.

No, things were much too uncertain for that.

Until he could figure out exactly what was going on, he had to operate under the assumption that he would not be treated well if he stepped out of line, despite the fact that he was in 'friendly' territory.

Making his way through the streets, ignoring anyone who recognized him, he clenched and unclenched his jaw.

Thinking.

Thinking.

Thinking.

He could..

Rubbing his fingers together, taking comfort in the heat, he looked around.

In the right light, he should be able to make out the message through the paper.

Working without the sun, his own flame should be enough to get something out of it.

It should work.

Though he would need privacy to do it.

That was the thing.

Privacy might be as simple as ducking into a deserted alleyway.

But Iroza remembered that hesitation on Ji's face when he had been given the assignment and the bundle of letters.

And the sentry that had first thought to go and ask Representative Ji for a second opinion before Iroza had shut him down.

If Ji wasnt having him watched at this very moment.

Iroza wasn't fool enough to take that bet.

So he needed an inconspicuous way of getting a few minutes of privacy.

That was if he wanted to read the message before delivering it, and obviously he did.

The most straightforward way he could read the message and not have anyone be aware of it.

They might well suspect, but they wouldn't know.

Briefly shuffling through the other, more routine letters, he hummed under his breath and looked for a delivery that might suit his purposes.

Bathhouse, blacksmith, butcher... Requisition orders and permits, mostly.

The bathhouse would have to do.

If he could duck into a private room for a moment or two, that would be enough.

With that preliminary plan in mind, he started towards the bathhouses.

He vaguely remembered where it was, and he would prefer to avoid asking one of the guards for directions.

Best not draw much attention to where he was going.