An Innocent Spark [Zukka]

Chapter 9: The Fire Lord's Question

While Sokka was sleeping, exploring the castle, and stuffing his face, Zuko was sitting through meeting after meeting. The dread that had started to dissipate reemerged with a vengeance. His advisors argued with each other over the demands made by the Northern Water Tribe and his generals argued over the Earth Kingdom's demands that the Fire Nation forcefully remove its citizens from the territories his nation had taken from the Earth Kingdom decades before he had even been born.

After the third meeting of the day Zuko had had enough and shouted, "Enough!" The flames surrounding the throne shot high into the air and the room became even hotter.

Everyone in the room sat in silence as they gazed up at the new fire lord, some with fear and others with a look of disrespect and superiority. Zuko was tired of his advisors and generals fighting and he was tired of them pretending like he did not exist while they did it. The quarreling and arguments ended today.

"Who among you does not believe in my leadership?" he asked to which not a soul so much as blinked. "I asked you a question and I want an answer."

General Lao, an old but war hardened man stood up and raised his hand. Zuko nodded and motioned for him to sit down.

"Who here is afraid of me?" he asked to which the room was again silent. He saw two of his advisors who had been appointed to the council recently shaking and that was answer enough for him.

"Who here does not have the Fire Nation's best interests at heart?" He asked as a final question. When the room remained silent for an uncomfortable amount of time he said, "it is of no concern to me whether you answer now, because if any of you so much as take one cent in bribes or do anything that puts your self-interests above those of this nation, you will have wished you had been born an air nomad before my grandfather wiped them out."

This caused one of the advisors he had seen trembling to burst out in tears and run out of the room. He dismissed the other advisor and told him to find his friend and tell him never to return. His attention turned to General Lao who he dismissed in a similar fashion before returning to his throne.

"Now," he continued, "as part of my council your sole job is to provide me accurate counsel and advice, not to make decisions for me by discussing it amongst yourselves. Let us pick up where we left off, only this time, I make every decision."

The room went silent save for the crackling of the fire surrounding the throne. It took Admiral Zu speaking up to get the others to do the same. If Zuko was going to be a good fire lord, he had to start being respected by those sworn to serve him. His father had made it look so easy, but from what he had experienced so far, it was anything but easy. He hoped with time ruling would become natural to him, but he was becoming less sure that would ever happen.