Chapter 6

Part 3

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"Im not totally sure, is why I'm asking. Do you think we should let him in?"

The other soldier shrugged. "I don't see why not. He is the Prince, and he can do what he wants even just being a Prince. But he's also Supreme Royal Adjutant, so he's real important."

"So it's as good as a Representative?"

He shook his head. "It's a different title. But he says he can go in, and General Rama sent him with the letter. What are you gonna do? Tell him no?"

"No-I mean, do you think I'll get in trouble for letting him in?"

"Way I see it, you'll get in trouble for sure if you keep him out. And Il not be going down on your paranoia."

"We cant just assume it'll work out," he hissed, briefly looking back at iroza. "Uh- sorry, sir. Just consulting with one of my subordinates."

"Ask him if he has a badge, or a permit."

"He's the prince! Why would he need a badge?"

"He's also the Supreme Royal Adjutant. Might have some kinda symbol of authority is all I'm saying"

"I don't have a badge" Iroza called over, frowning slightly as the two of them jumped and turned to him. "Is my word not good enough for you two?"

"uh, no sir.." His friend elbowed him. "I mean, yes sir Your word is good enough, of course. More than good enough. Why wouldn't it be?"

The man trailed off, laughing nervously.

Iroza waited a few seconds, glancing between them. "So.. Can I go in?"

The two exchangeda look.

"Yes" they both said at once.

"Wonderful" Iroza said dryly.

"Good... Right" the first one cleared his throat, turning to pound his fist on the door. "Hey!Hey Fin! Open the door, the Supreme Royal Agitat- Ajoe- Ajotau- it's the Supreme Royal. The Prince is here, to see one of the Wardens."

"The Supreme Royal Adjutant? Is this an inspection?"

Beyond frustrated with how long this was taking, Iroza called out to the guard beyond the gate.

"I have a priority message for Warden Paola, by order of the General. It's sensitive information, so I'll not be handing it off to anyone but the Warden"

And at last, that seemed to do it.

The doors unlocked and swung open from the inside.

As he walked in, Iroza idly wondered if security was this bad in all Fire Nation prisons, or if this one, in particular, was staffed by a bunch of idiotic locals.

"Good to meet you, Supreme Royal Adjutant, sir"

Iroza nodded at them but didn't respond.

Hopefully, it was the latter.

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Another of the guards, who thankfully didn't bother trying to converse or introduce himself, led Iroza through the corridors of the prison.

The thick stone walls on display outside gave way to wood and panels of metal as they went down a level.

And then another.

"Stone is no good for earthbenders, sir," he said, by way of explanation. "Halls and cells on this level had to be specially built to contain their type. Wood and metal, by and large."

"And Warden Pola... What's her position here?"

"Well that's easy enough. Pola's responsible for this whole section down here. Pretty quiet job since none of the benders get trial, and none of them can really escape. Mostly keeping watch and feeding them. From what I understand, that is, sir."

"I see..." Iroza said, scanning the cells as they walked.

Small gaps in the metallic doors.

Enough for air and light to leak in, but that was all.

Two locks on each door.

One for the door itself, and a smaller one for the sliding panels.

For food, if he had to assume.

No brick or exposed earth to be seen.

"How secure would you say this place is?"

"Very secure. Top of the line security, of course."

"For earthbenders?" Iroza had his doubts about that.

"Well..." As they arrived at the end of the hall, next to a room lined with shelves and a desk, the man stopped to turn and look at Iroza. "It was originally built for- uh... Other sorts of people. That is, not necessarily earthbenders."

"It was built to contain firebenders, Adjutant."

This voice came from down the hall.

Iroza looked over, then up.

A tall, older woman in gleaming red armor, better kept than most soldiers he had seen in the city, stood with her helmet in one hand and a stack of papers in another.

She approached, stopping in front of him and bowing deeply. "Prince Iroza. It's an honor to meet a member of the royal family. My name is Paola, I'm the Warden of this level of the prison."

Straightening back up, she spared a glance to the soldier and jerked her head to the side.

He turned and marched off, making himself scarce.

Iroza eyed her, stoic face and guarded

stance.

He held out the letter. "Good to meet you, Warden Pola. This letter is from General Rama, governor of Wan Bhing. Confirm delivery."

Pola reached out and accepted it, briefly looking down at the seal.

Iroza tried to take in all of her micro-expressions, but the only thing he picked out was a slight tensing of her jaw.

Looking back up at him, she nodded.

"Delivery confirmed. While I appreciate this, I hope you don't feel obligated to make deliveries on the regular, Adjutant."

"Oh?" He tilted his head at her and grinned.

"Did I do that awful of a job, then? That's a shame. I assure you that I tried my best."

She didn't even blink.

"Of course not, sir. It was a commendable effort. Courier duty just seems rather base for someone of you... Station."

This wouldn't be good enough.

She was too composed to let anything slip.

Too wooden.

Someone had tipped her off or prepped her beforehand.

Representative Ji, in all likelihood, though he most likely did it through an agent.

Nobody could possibly know for certain if Iroza knew anything at this point.

But they likely suspected that he suspected.

Very straightforward.

So straightforward he was getting a headache just thinking about it.

Clicking his tongue, Iroza sighed and rubbed at the back of his head. "It was a little demeaning, I'll grant you that. But I'm still having a good time of it. Learning all the intricacies of city-wide administration is very interesting to me. Exciting stuff."

She didn't look like she believed him but kept silent.

Right.

Time for some more direct probing.

"With that in mind," he said, looking around at the cells with a curious expression. "How about you tell me a little about your routine here?"

Pola shifted a little. "My routine, sir?"

Yes, tell him all of the secret plans.

"Your day-to-day. A breakdown of the nitty-gritty responsibilities of Warden Pola. Paperwork, patrols, and prisoner related things," Iroza said, adding a bit of impatience to his tone. "You know. The routine."

"I'm afraid you wouldn't find them very interesting, sir."

He sighed, shaking his head. "Whether or not I find them interesting isn't relevant, Warden. I've a role to fulfill, and I like to have at least a passing knowledge of everything that goes on. I've gone through this with each of my deliveries today, and I intend on doing it here as well. Now, shall we move on? Or are you so busy that I need to go to the General and schedule an appointment?"

It was hard to sound threatening when he was so young and small.

In this situation, the best he could do was fall back on a bored tone and a haughty attitude.

Making veiled threats disguised as naive questions.

Azula was far better at being directly threatening.

Finally, Pola stood at attention and bowed again. "Of course I can answer your questions. I am at your service, Adjutant. Please accept my apologies for assuming your intent, and questioning your authority."

And there it was again.

The questioning, followed by the apology.

His kindly tone and boyish features tended to make people assume he was just playing.

And his stupid title did not help that assumption.

The cycle of questions and apologies was almost predictable by now.

Because of that, Iroza was prepared to brush it off.

He laughed lightly, walking forward and patting her on the shoulder. "Worry not, Warden Pola. No offense was taken, so you are easily forgiven."

She straightened back up and nodded, eyeing him a bit more warily than before.

"Now then," he said, looking up at her with an easy smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. It rarely did. "What does a typical day in your job look like?"

"Well..." Here she hesitated for the first time. "My days can vary in complexity... But most of the time my only real duties involve making sure everything goes as it should, and everyone is in their place. Guards at their posts or on their routes, prisoners fed at appropriate times, and all the daily logs filled out properly. Not very exciting, but it's that way by design."

Iroza hummed as he followed along. "That does sound very droll, but about what I expected. I'm told your authority is focused around the lower levels of the prison?"

"The Head Warden relies on delegation, sir. There are two other Wardens aside from me, Linah and Shon. They handle the upper levels, which hold non-bending criminals. Those require more active leadership, since the prisoners are moved through the courts in a way they aren't down here."

"And what changes about your job changes during the more... Exciting days?"

She frowned. "Sir?"

"The non-standard ones. Wan Bhing is a contested territory, and I understand the border sees its share of clashes with the Earth Kingdom forces. The lower levels of the prison were built to hold benders, correct?"

"Yes... It was for firebenders, back when the territory was still held by the enemy. But the infrastructure specialized for that, the cooling pipes and cold rooms, those were replaced some years back."

Iroza looked out at the halls where the cells were laid out.

"And now they're built for earthbenders, yes?"

"That's right, sir."

He hummed, drumming "Metal and wood. That's enough to keep them in place, in your experience?"

"For the most part."

But not forever.

Earthbenders weren't kept here long-term.

"How often do they get shipped out?" At her questioning look, he jerked his head out at the hall. "The earthbenders. From what I understand, they're ultimately shipped out to those sea prisons off to the coast. Great big metal things, specially built to keep them in place."

Pola slowly nodded, and Iroza didn't miss the way she moved the letter behind her and out of his sight.

"There's no regular 'shipment'. Once a certain amount of earthbenders is exceeded, they're loaded up and sent out with a supply train towards the coast. I'm not clear on the details from there, but I assume they trade hands and find their way to the sea prisons. As you say, sir."

"I see," Iroza said, eyes scanning the shelves stacked with scrolls. "Then by your estimate, how many earthbenders are currently being held here?"

She glanced over at her desk, brow furrowing. "Thirteen. Three more currently on the way from a recent clash."

So.

Sixteen then.

The letter he wasn't supposed to know about had specified that sixteen prisoners would soon be transferred.

Apparently, that was enough to breach whatever threshold on earthbenders they had.

For posterity, he asked anyway.

"Sixteen, then. Seems a decent number. Does that mean we might be seeing a transfer put together soon?"