Chapter 130. Still (18+)
The Capital of the Fire Nation. Wan.
One of the main symbols of the Fire Lord's authority—his Palace, which majestically towered over the other buildings and had stood untouched for a century—had undergone a minor modernization. The upper left wing and the corresponding section of the wall had been noticeably reinforced to create a comfortable dwelling on the roof for the rapidly growing golden ruler of the skies.
Aine, who had grown to the size of the largest Komodo dragons, could no longer hang on her parent's neck as she once did. Moving around the Palace was also no longer possible, but she didn't want to leave her father, who spent most of his day inside the structure, for long... So, it was decided to relocate the deeply respected advisor's office higher up, connecting it with a long corridor to Aine's spacious room.
Beyond growing stronger with each passing month, having already reached the highest level of her development, she had also learned to communicate through thought transmission. At first, like a simple human child, Wan was bombarded with questions: "Why? What for? When?" Over time, Aine became a little calmer, and as far as Wan understood, this was due to her new "hobby." A dragon's hearing is far superior to a human's, and this allowed her to eavesdrop on conversations in the Capital. Perhaps, in some ways, this isn't very nice... But Aine doesn't need to strain to hear others' conversations, so whether you like it or not, you'll still hear something.
The people had more or less grown accustomed to seeing a dragon flying in the sky periodically. Many adored her, but there were also those who wished to see her head mounted in their mansion. Thus, over the past weeks, several groups of people, driven by the thirst for fame and money, attempted to capture or kill Aine. This began on the very day Wan deemed her capable of fending off an entire group of masters, after which she was allowed to fly to nearby islands on her own.
The hunters failed... No one has seen them since, but the found clients are now serving their life sentences in the now-empty "Boiling Rock" prison. They were quite welcome there, as after the exchange of prisoners, the people working there had become much less busy.
Frankly, I don't know what they were hoping for in a fight against a creature literally born in fire. Human mastery over flames couldn't cause her any serious harm, at most it would tickle. Her scales, in turn, repelled both arrows and ballista bolts, the latter at most causing her a minor injury.
The recent diplomatic negotiations between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom, as intended, became the first step toward friendship between the peoples. Of course, the islanders, who were trying to convey the realities of today, disagreed with the state's policy. After all, who has the strongest fleet? Who has the strongest element? Why should they be the weaker side?
One could only applaud the propaganda conducted by Ozai and his father. Some people genuinely believed the Fire Nation was special. Therefore, they strongly disagreed with the decisions of the new government led by Lord Azula. It's a shame they weren't in a democratic country, where unrest could be exploited by a third party. Yes, it took some effort, but the discontented mouths were quickly silenced. And Aine and Spark played no small role in this.
The concessions to the Earth Kingdom were framed as the only right path... Which is perfectly illustrated by two dragons who have become friends of the Fire Nation. Isn't this a sign from above? It's fortunate that in this world, people are still not very well-informed about the means of influencing the masses...
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