FicWad

Cold Heat - Chapter 1
Rated M


~


It was almost sunset when Kaiya walked through the Fire Nation Royal Plaza gates.

It had taken her much longer than she had anticipated. The security at the Plaza was extremely tight and the guards had refused to let her pass, even though Ursa had assured Kaiya the letter she had given her should get her through.

The letter was supposed to be from a man inside Plaza City, the city just beyond the gates, requesting Kaiya’s employment as a servant in his teashop. Ursa had also given her a document that bore employment history with references. All of it was phony, of course. The man inside the city, references and past employers were all members of the Order of the White Lotus and would back up Kaiya’s story if ever questioned about it.

But Ursa’s letter hadn’t worked. Not at first anyway.

It wasn’t until Kaiya burst into tears, weeping at the all trouble she had gone through to get there and how she now had nowhere else to go, that the guards finally had let her through.

As she walked through the tall stone gatehouse, she smiled at her acting prowess. She was getting pretty good at this.

The city beyond the Plaza gates was full of quaint ivory colored stone buildings with crimson roofs. A wide brick road of the same color led straight through the medium-sized city and up the massive mountain beyond. Several merchants and retailers lined both sides of this main road.

Even though night was rapidly falling, many citizens were still out and about doing errands or simply socializing with their neighbors. Kaiya could hear the laughter of children playing and the shouts of their mothers calling them to dinner. She found it hard to believe that such a serene and pleasant town existed just below the malevolent Fire Nation capital.

The man whom Kaiya was to meet lived over a teashop he owned just inside the Plaza gates. Kaiya glanced at a map Ursa had given her and located his shop immediately. As she made her way towards the establishment, the sign on the door told her he was closed for the night. She pounded loudly with her fist on the ornately carved double door. Soon she could hear the complaints of an elderly man.

“We’re closed! Come back tomorrow!”, she hear him yell through the thick wooden doors.

Without a word, Kaiya pulled a Pia Sho tile bearing the picture of a white lotus on it out of her pocket and slipped it under the door. Shortly, she saw the old man’s face peek through the two doors. He looked like he had seen many summers, but the pleasant twinkle in his hazel eyes belied his age.

“Kaiya?”, the man said timidly.

Good, the messenger had come and given him the news of Kaiya’s impending arrival. She didn’t want to have to explain more than she had to tonight.

“Xing? It is very nice to finally meet you.”

“Please, come in.”, he opened the door wider so she could enter. Kaiya put her large knapsack down just inside the door and followed him into the shop.

Xing’s teashop was quite large. The customer area was open and airy, with many windows that could be opened to increase the effect. The polished cherry wood flooring had numerous tables with the chairs stacked upon them for the night. There were four Pia Sho tables there as well, one in each corner of the shop. His business must be going well to be able to afford such niceties for his patrons. His tea must be outstanding, Kaiya thought to herself.

“Would you mind making me a cup of tea while we talk?”, Kaiya requested.

“Of course. So Ursa sent me a tea lover, did she?”, Xing said with a smile on his wrinkled face.

“She sure did. There are not many finer things in life than a good cup of tea.”, Kaiya said smiling back, meaning every word.

“Well, come this way then, my lady.”

Xing led Kaiya towards the back of the shop and into the kitchen. She could see that indeed he had many customers - his setup was huge and could obviously handle dozens of patrons at once. She couldn’t wait to help him in the kitchen tomorrow.

Kaiya sat down at a small table and watched Xing work his art. He lit a small burner with a spark from his fingertips and began brewing some tea. Shortly, he handed her a cup of steaming pale liquid. She took a sip and grinned. Green tea - her favorite.

“This is absolutely delicious, Xing. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Xing poured himself a cup then sat across from her and silently inspected her.

“So, do you think Ursa’s plan will really work?”, he finally asked.

“I have gotten this far haven’t I?”, Kaiya replied proudly.

“True. But, Kaiya, getting up into the capital is very tricky. You have to be invited by the Firelord himself.”

“That is what Ursa told me as well. But she told me not to worry. There are members even in Capital City who could get me inside. All I have to do is lay low with you for a while and the Order will handle the rest.” Kaiya took a sip of tea. “I had no idea the White Lotus had such a following.”

“The Order is over one hundred years old. We have had members from all four nations, some of them living right here under the Firelord’s nose.”, Xing said with a smirk, referring to himself.

“In fact, Ursa was even a member when she was Fire Princess.”, he continued, staring into space and looking nostalgic. “You look a lot like her, when she was your age. I used to go to the meetings just to look at her.”

Kaiya tried to suppress a yawn for politeness, but couldn’t. The long boat ride here had her exhausted.

“Where are my manners? Let me show you to your room so you can get some sleep.”, Xing said as he got up.

Kaiya went to retrieve her bag that she had left by the door. In the dimly lit shop, she noticed a plaque on the wall next to the door. As she came closer to read it, she noticed it had the Fire Nation oath on it along with a man’s picture. She had never seen him before, although she desperately wished she had. Whoever he was, he was evidently important - and incredibly attractive.

Kaiya was so captivated by the man in the picture, she didn’t hear Xing come up behind her to take her bag. She jumped when he spoke.

“Silly oath. I always hated saying it in school. Now the Firelord wants his oath, and his face, posted everywhere.”, Xing said with loathing in his voice.

“That’s the Firelord?!”, Kaiya couldn’t hide her surprise.

“Sure is. Better get used to his ugly mug, too. It’s everywhere. And if all goes well, you will be meeting the man himself very soon.” Xing turned and motioned for Kaiya to follow. “Your room is this way, my lady.”

Xing took her back through the kitchen and up a flight of stairs in the back of the shop. When they reached the top, he opened up a door to a small but clean bedroom with just a single bed and a table. On top of it rested an oil lamp, which Xing lit right away with his firebending. The room was modest, but Kaiya was fine with the arrangements. Through her many years as a servant, she had slept in far worse accommodations.

“My room is at the end of the hall if you need anything.”, Xing said, then he wished her a good night and left.

Kaiya quickly undressed and threw on her green nightdress, the only Earth Kingdom item Ursa had allowed her to bring. The rest of her wardrobe consisted of all Fire Nation clothing, which Kaiya thought she would never want to wear. The colors had grown on her though on the long voyage from Gaoling, where Ursa had made her home since her banishment.

She blew out the lamp and climbed into bed. Although she was very tired, she knew it would be hard to get to sleep as the events from the past few weeks whirled around in her mind.

Kaiya had been shocked to learn that her employer and dear friend had once been Fire Princess, wife to the most powerful and ruthless man on the planet.

She also had learned that the Order of the White Lotus was not some silly Pia Sho group, but a team of people who retrieved and passed on secret information pertaining to the war. Spies. And now they needed Kaiya to help them - all because she resembled Ursa.

In the weeks before her departure from the Earth Kingdom, Ursa had taught Kaiya the right things to do and say in order to get a job inside the palace. But Ursa had really hoped that Kaiya’s looks alone would be enough. Once she gained employment, all Kaiya had to do was sneak about the palace and try to gather information about the war without revealing herself. It all sounded easy enough.

Kaiya shook her head in frustration. The one thing Ursa didn’t tell her though was that her ex-husband, the Firelord, was drop dead gorgeous.

This mission was going to be a lot more difficult than Kaiya ever imagined.


~


"How much longer is this going to take?!", Firelord Ozai bellowed from his throne to his steward Taiso.

He was growing tired of waiting on the village commoners. He despised having the indecent wretches in his palace, but this was a matter of highest importance.

His royal tea maker had died suddenly last night, leaving Ozai without his favorite drink. Now he needed to search for a new tea maker.

There was no one talented enough left up in Capital City. In fact, Ozai had gone through several before finally finding the right one. He had no choice but to turn to Plaza City for tea makers, so he sent down his men to demand the best the city had to offer up to his palace. Now a half dozen peasants were in his royal kitchen, brewing concoctions Ozai was positive he would detest.

Why did the bastard have the audacity to die so suddenly?

Ozai loved tea as much, or even more than, his disloyal brother. And, although Ozai's life did not revolve around tea like Iroh's seemed to, it sure did make him very cranky when he had to go without.

And he had enough to be cranky about already.

His children had lied to him about the Avatar's death. He had expected as much from his traitorous son, Zuko, but Azula?

When he had interrogated her on the eve of the solar eclipse, she explained in her nonchalant manner that she had given Zuko the credit for supposedly killing the Avatar to test his allegiance to the Fire Nation. And that she had known all along that the Avatar was alive, but desperately wanted to see Zuko ruin himself yet again.

Ozai had no idea if his daughter was lying or not. She probably was - she always lied to get what she wanted. Or to get out of trouble. Ozai smiled to himself. She was exactly like her father.

Nevertheless, the lie his children told had humiliated Ozai when the Avatar made his appearance at the Invasion a few weeks ago. The Fire Nation had publicly boasted about the slaying of the Avatar in Ba Sing Se. Now that he had been spotted, rumors had spread and Ozai looked like an absolute fool. He feared his country was fast losing faith in him.

Ozai's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps echoing throughout his throne room. He looked up to see Taiso leading a small group of men towards him, each carrying a cup of tea for him to sample. Ozai crinkled his nose at the sight of them.

Taiso ordered for the men to form a line in front of the throne so Ozai could inspect each of them all at once. As they did so, Ozai noticed that one of the men was in fact a woman.

And he had to do a double take.

Ursa? It couldn't be, he thought to himself. She wouldn't dare show her treacherous face in this palace again. Ozai left his throne to get a closer look at the woman.

The other tea makers in the line looked downward, avoiding the Firelord's gaze. Except her. Her eyes locked with his as he made his way over to her. Normally, Ozai would have severely reprimanded a commoner for not showing him the respect of their lowered eyes, but he was too curious to pay her discourtesy much heed right now.

As he got closer, he saw that this woman was not Ursa. But the resemblance was uncanny. Her long raven hair was drawn up in a partial topknot style. Exactly the same way Ursa had worn hers. And she also shared Ursa's pouty lips, regal nose and heart-shaped face. But that was where their similarities ended.

Her eyes, instead of being the golden hazel color of Ursa's, were instead a deep dark brown. Ozai could see the ever-present flames of his throne room him reflected in her unwavering stare, which seemed to go right to his core.

And this woman was much younger than Ursa as well. She couldn't be more than eighteen summers, Ozai guessed. He let his eyes roam down her graceful body. The thin tunic she wore hinted at full pert breasts that he was positive had never suckled a child. A tingle ran down his body and straight to his groin as Ozai imagined one of her pink nipples hardening sweetly in between his teeth.

He let his eyes move even lower still, over the dainty tuck of her waist and the delicate curve of her hips. Hips he desperately wanted to grab hold of as she lay beneath him begging for undeserved mercy again and again.

Ozai's royal manhood was unbearably hard beneath his robes when his eyes traveled back up her lithe form to meet hers again.

He hoped her tea was as tasteful to him as her body was.

"Well, are you going to stand there and stare at me, or are you going to serve me some tea?", he finally snapped out.

"I...I am sorry, my lord.", she stuttered, her face flushed with color.

Her timid voice carried gently throughout the massive room as she stepped closer to him, holding out the tea she had made. She carried her pleasing scent with her, catching Ozai off guard.

He knew that fragrance anywhere. Cherry blossoms. It had been Ursa's favorite. Ozai had forgotten how much his nose had missed her scent until this very moment.

He reached out to take her offering, his eyes never leaving hers. As he grabbed the teacup, he purposely brushed his fingers over hers. Her gasp clearly told Ozai that he was having an affect on her as well. He grinned at her as he brought the cup to his lips and tasted.

Ozai knew what his answer would be the moment he took the warm liquid into his mouth. He swallowed slowly then finally spoke.

"You're hired. The rest of you can leave. That includes you too, Taiso. I will send her out to you in a moment.", Ozai said never taking his eyes off the woman in front of him.

Ozai could have sworn he heard sighs of relief from the peasants as they left his throne room.

"How did you know jasmine was my favorite?", he asked her when they were alone.

"My previous employer mentioned that jasmine was to your liking, my lord.", she replied courteously.

She certainly knew her place, Ozai thought. A most desirous trait, indeed.

"Have you much experience in tea making?"

"Yes, my lord." She pulled a couple of rolled pieces of parchment from out of her sleeve and held it in front of him. "I hope you find my recommendations satisfactory."

Ozai held out the teacup for her to take as he snatched the parchment from her other hand. He skimmed through her extensive list of names of which she had been maidservant to. Many were all Fire Nation diplomats. She certainly had much experience in servitude. He was impressed, and that didn't happen very often.

There was only one more thing he needed from this woman.

"Tell me your name.", he demanded as he took back his tea.

"Kaiya, my lord."

It occurred to Ozai that he had not once ever asked the name of any of his servants. Other than Taiso, he really didn't care what any of them were named, including his mistresses.

"Welcome to my palace, Kaiya. I take my tea at dawn, after lunch and right before I turn in for the night. If I am in a meeting, I will require tea be made then as well. You are here to serve me tea, Kaiya, and I expect it to be of the highest quality at all times. Any lapse in condition will result in your immediate expulsion. You are dismissed. Taiso will show you to your quarters."

"Thank you, my lord.", Kaiya said while bowing. When she stood up, she shyly smiled at him and turned to leave.

Ozai's heart did a curious flip when he saw her smile. She smiled like Ursa too.

He looked down at the tea Kaiya had made him and wondered if his life might soon be revolving around tea after all.


~