"Death or exile, you decide." - I Prevail
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Four Years Ago
This wasn't going to just be a normal Agni Kai. Aelita should've known it the minute the royal guard showed up at her door but then she was still young and naïve. She would ask her dad what was going on when she got to the palace. He always had all the answers. Where was he? He had promised he would be home for dinner tonight.
This wasn't a normal Agni Kai. While crowds loved to gather to watch the traditional fire duels, the arena was never surrounded by armed guards. Those same guards normally greeted her kindly, but now they were looking at Aelita in disgust. The crowd itself was massive. There were more high-ranking military officers and government officials present than the young girl had ever seen before.
The Fire Lord had been the one to call the challenge? A Fire Lord hadn't fought personally in an Agni Kai since before Sozin. That was bad news for the challenger. Even Aelita was intimidated by her future father-in-law.
Where on earth was her dad? The royal guard said they were taking her to him for the match but standing at the edge of the arena he was nowhere to be found. Aelita knew better than to ask questions with so many officials around last it get back to Ozai. After all, she was just a girl, and unlike the Princess, she was expected to bite her tongue in the presence of a man. There were only two men she never felt the need to be proper around; Zuko and her father.
This wasn't a normal Agni Kai. The opponent was being led into the arena in shackles? That was unheard of. War crimes? Treason? Who would be bold enough to stand against Ozai? They must've had a death wish.
That was when Aelita saw him. Her father - her mentor, her protector, her only family, and the first man she would ever love - stood in shackles on the far end of the arena. He only had time to look at his baby, his only child once before his bindings were removed and Ozai stood to begin the fight.
No, this wasn't an Agni Kai. It was an execution.