Second Child Of Agni [Avatar The Last Airbender/Youjo Senki]

[Sadguychet]

General Hao ran a hand through his greying beard with a heavy sigh. Spread across the table in front of him, the yellowed lines of a well-used war map stared back, confounding his senses in such a way that even his warm tea could not calm his aching head.

He had been on this particular issue for nearly a fortnight and felt no closer to solving it than he had when he began. But solve it he would, unless he wished to suffer the wrath of the ever-venerable Fire Lord Azulon.

The crux of his issue came down to the complete and utter lack of supply lines within the bowels of the Earth Kingdom. The staunch defence of such a fractured nation could be praised if it weren't causing the deaths of good, patriotic men and women of the Fire Nation. For their conquest to continue, the forward battalions needed to be well-supplied or else they would simply break themselves against the Earth Kingdom's walls. It was a simple matter on paper, but in practice, everything seemed to fall flat on its face and as General, he was up to take the blame.

He stewed over the matter for hours. As light faded and his tea quickly grew cold and tepid, he found himself no closer to the solution to his problem than when he had started. He glanced at the candle lighting the room to find the wick burned down to the wax. Maybe it was time to call it a night and revisit the issue with the rising sun as company.

He reached over, preparing to snuff the candle and end his pain for the night, when the door opened. He turned with a furrowed brow to find a small girl standing there, silhouetted in the dying light. A shock of golden atop her head caused his heart to skip a beat. He stood, fear in his voice.

"P-Princess Tanya!" He said, cursing his stutter. Getting over his surprise, he bowed, smoothing his voice into something much more respectable. "Ahem, forgive my reaction. It's just that this is unexpected. What are you doing in this part of the palace so late?"

Sharp blue eyes stared up at him. Yet another trait that set her apart from the rest of the royal family. Though Hao knew that she was theirs by blood; no small amount of tests had been had the day she emerged into the world.

"I was restless so I decided to take a midnight walk," she said. "The night is beautiful this time of year. I was in the garden when I noticed the light on and decided to investigate. What are you doing pouring over maps at this hour, General?"

She spoke with the tone of a child, but her cadence gave away the frightful intelligence hidden behind those blue eyes. If General Hao were of a lesser mind, he might think he was talking to one of his colleagues rather than a girl who could barely produce a spark.

He smiled gently. "It's a matter your grandfather assigned to me, Princess. There is no need to trouble yourself, I was just about to put the books away, so to speak."

He turned to begin rolling up the map, but paused as a shadow fell over it. The Princess had come to his side and was pouring over the war map with a curious expression. As he watched, her brow furrowed and her hand came up, the edge of her thumbnail resting gingerly underneath her teeth in an expression of intense thought.

His heart warmed at the sight. So, the little princess wants to play battlemaster? Maybe I should recommend some texts from Fire Lord Sozin's later years. Best to start them young so they don't lose that spark of interest.

Hao opened his mouth to do just that, when—

"You should pull your forces back."

He blinked. "E-Excuse me, Princess?"

"You're having issues supplying your army, correct?" She pointed at a spot on the map where red converged with green. "Assuming this map is accurate, maintaining your current border with the Earth Kingdom will be costly and ultimately useless. You should pull at least half of your battalions back and instead divert your attention here."

She tapped a figure on the map. It was a coastal town surrounded by mountains that was almost completely inaccessible apart from a river leading through its valley. Hao had ordered his forces to ignore it as it was a civilian encampment and according to local information, a poor one at that.

"That is a slum town, Princess. There's nothing to be looted there," he attempted to explain. She turned to him, one brow raised in a manner that suggested she thought very little of his words.

"It would be a suitable staging ground for an active supply line. That town feeds directly into Mua Ting sea which means our ships can access it without needing to send troops over to the mainland. On top of that, it is small enough that it can be garrisoned by half a few squads of competent firebenders to keep the civilians under control."

She turned back to the map, gesturing to the border. "In the meantime, the bulk of your army can fall back and take up a defensive position here, on the other side of the mountain pass. While they're waiting for you to regroup and attack, you can set up a direct supply line to feed fresh troops to the front line."

Hao was prepared to dismiss her out of hand. She was a child, what could she possibly know about running a war? But something in her words gave him pause and he found himself considering her proposal despite himself. He looked down at the map, glancing over the points she had made, and found himself leaning closer.

He found that her idea had merit. He stroked his beard, the tactician in him weighing the pros and cons of a retreat of that magnitude. "That would leave the front line undermanned. If the Earth Kingdom catches wind, they will attack us from behind and plow right through us.."

"And we would lose half the men that we inevitably would when they do that anyway in a week's time, when all of our men are weak and exhausted from the constant fighting without supplies," Tanya replied with a swiftness that surprised him. She pointed at the forward line. "If we leave a dummy force behind composed of the healthiest and fastest of our men and supply them with animals to escape, we should be able to hold off any response until they are safely behind the mountain pass. At which point, the Earth Kingdom will not follow for fear that we might bring the mountain down on top of their heads."

It didn't escape him that she had begun to refer to his men as her own, or as if she were somehow a part of them. It made him happy to see one of the royal family display such patriotism. That she had a tactical mind to rival her uncle was even better.

Hao chuckled, stepping back from the map and looking down at the girl. "Though it shames me to say it, your plan is sound enough that I wish I could have come up with it myself. Perhaps you would do me the honor of allowing me to present it in the war room tomorrow? I will be sure to mention where I received the inspiration for such a brilliant strategy, of course."

The princess's eyes widened at the notion and she gave him a bow. "It would honor me, General."

"Stand up, Princess, there's no need for that." He laughed nervously, glancing toward the door as if the royal guard would burst in at any moment to see their charge bowing to someone below her station.

Thankfully, the girl rose to her full height a moment later. He released a breath, and then glanced out the nearby window, watching moonlight stream down into the courtyard. "It is getting late. I believe it is high time I retire for the night. You should get to bed as well, Princess. I hear you have lessons tomorrow. You need to be well rested if you want to keep up with your siblings."

The girl nodded, a yawn sounding from the back of her throat. "Sound advice, General. Thank you for considering my proposal. And good night."

General Hao watched her turn to leave, the whisp of golden hair disappearing into the darkened halls. He turned to his map, staring at the issue that had confounded him. To think that a child would bring him the solution to his problem. Perhaps she was even more special than her appearance would suggest.

With a slight smile, he snuffed the candle and went about his business, his spirits higher than they had been in weeks.

---

This new life was… strange. That was not to say that my last one was anything ordinary, but there was certainly something to be said about sleeping in lice-ridden sheets one night, and waking up in the softest silks only weeks later.

I'm not sure what killed me, or even if I died in the first place. What few memories I have of the beginning of this new life were shrouded in the clouded haze of a postnatal existence. They blurred together until sentience began to spark itself to life within developing neurons, and suddenly I was Tanya again. But it was a different Tanya, in a place that was quite different, yet oh-so similar.

"Lift your leg higher, princess. Remember, straight as an arrow. It won't do to have you trip over yourself from lack of balance."

The nasally voice of my instructor, Shu, was met with a quick roll of the eyes just out of his view, and then a slight adjustment to my leg. The sun beat down on my feverish skin, though I was not uncomfortable with the heat. Lessons would have run longer if I was.

"Very good. Now, onto the next form in the sequence."

At his command, I turned and slipped into a sweeping motion that sent fire and smoke skittering across the pavement. I could feel the instructors frown. A firebender producing smoke was a great shame. If Ozai had been present, he certainly would have had something to say.

That was perhaps the biggest difference from my previous life; I had a family. Not only that, but I was born into the highest of high society, silver spoon and all. The notion of being a princess or even a lady had been a laughable one in both of my lifetimes, yet here I was with the title and crown to match.

I was born the middle child of three. My older brother, Zuko, and my younger sister, Azula, were as different as the night and the day. Zuko's constitution could best be described as a wet noodle quivering in a thunderstorm, though his heart was gentle. Azula was… a budding sociopath. I recognized the signs well. I exhibited them myself, after all.

That was not to say we shared common ground. Indeed, the girl seemed to find me as distasteful as she did Zuko, and much for the same reasons, though warped through a different lens. Zuko had our mother's attention and her love, leaving us to fight over what little our other source of such things deigned to give us. Needless to say Azula was very much a "daddy's girl" and did not take kindly to the idea of sharing, no matter how much I made it clear I simply could not care less about such things.

I had everything I could possibly want in this life with room to grow. So many paths laid before me that it was almost mind-boggling. I'd spent my last life clawing for every chance to prove myself and earn a promotion to a cushy existence, only to find myself thrust into that position completely by chance.

Truthfully, it was a bit infuriating. After all, it was not as if I could say my good fortune was a result of my labors.

A new presence on the courtyard called a halt to the lesson. Shu turned, expression of supreme annoyance on his mustached face as he glared at the red-clad armor of one of the palace guards. "Yes? What is it? In case you haven't noticed, we are a bit busy at the moment."

The masked visage of the guard was completely stoic in the face of his annoyance. "Princess Tanya is to come to the war room, by order of Fire Lord Azulon," he said.

I was given the immense pleasure of watching the blood drain out of Shu's face. He hastily backed away, bowing slightly. "O-Of course. You may take her with you and please, give my regards to the Fire Lord."

The guard did not respond, turning to me instead. I ran through a quick form to calm my roiling chi, schooling my expression. With a nod, I followed after him, leaving the courtyard behind for the war room.

Internally, I was smiling as my efforts bore fruit. There was no doubt in my mind that this had to do with the strategy I had imparted on General Hao just last night. It was a moment of impulse, but if it helped me toward my goals, I was more than happy to indulge.

I had every intention of making a considerable effort to enjoy this new life. There was just one pesky issue that needed to be dealt with before. A matter that had been plaguing the nation for a hundred years too long.

Thankfully, I was no stranger to dealing with senseless wars.

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