Little Soldier Boy (Iroh II)

Prologue

Prince Iroh sighed, looking at himself in the mirror.

The stench of burnt hair hung heavily in the air as well as the musky smell of drying ink.

He looked at the floor, stepping over the smoldering clumps of hair he'd just singed off his head.

"Grandfather will surely be displeased when he sees this," The prince said, running his fingers over his hair, which now appeared as a close shave over his traditional long hair.

He walked to his desk and gently touched his thumb to one of the papers on the surface.

He looked at the pad of his thumb and seemed pleased by the lack of ink staining his finger.

He rolled up the note and slid it into the scroll casing.

Scrolls were about twenty years outdated, but Iroh knew his grandfather prefered them over folded letters.

He folded the other three papers. He grabbed a sealing wax stick and used his Firebending to melt the wax onto the folded papers, where he proceeded to stamp them with his wax press.

Iroh walked to his wardrobe. He grabbed a cloak and put it on.

He pulled up his hood and reached back into the wardrobe, pulling out a duffle bag with the Fire Nation insignia and swinging it onto his back.

He grabbed the scroll and letters before walking to the door.

Iroh glanced around the room once more.

His eyes fell on a circular tile sitting on the desk. He hurried back to the desk, slipping the tile into his pocket before finally leaving the room.

He looked around the corridor, which was empty.

There were usually guards but he didn't question the good fortune of the guards being gone at the moment.

Iroh made his way down the hallway, soon stopping at a set of large double doors.

He pushed the door open silently and peeked into the room.

His mother, Princess Izumi, was sleeping peacefully. She laid on the edge of her bed, facing the center of the bed.

Iroh crept to the bedside and silently flicked through the folded letters, finding the one he was looking for. He set the letter on her nightstand, sliding it under her gold glasses.

He looked down at his mother. He brought his hand to his mouth and kissed his palm. He tilted his hand down and blew the kiss down to her along with a light stream of fire that didn't pass his fingertips.

It was something he had been doing for his mother ever since he learned he could bend. She loved it, so he made it his way to tell her he loved her.

He left the room quietly, making sure the door latched before continuing down the corridor.

Iroh stopped at a set of doors with a piece of paper hanging on the handles.

Halt!
Kyoshi Warriors Only!

Iroh smiled faintly, and moved the sign to one door handle, opening the door.

He held down a laugh as he saw his eight year old sister laying on the floor in her favorite Kyoshi Warrior costume.

One of her yellow paper fans was next to her head and the other at her feet. She also held a stuffed Kyoshi doll in one of her hands.

She was obsessed with the Kyoshi warriors, everyone assumed it was because she was a non-bender and grew up playing with the Kyoshi Warriors around and other nation girls that wanted to be Kyoshi Warriors when they were older.