Fic: Never a Player
Title: Never a Player
Character: Long Feng
Word: 500
Summary: Long Feng stopped playing games a long time ago.
Prompt: Never
First new fic of the New Year. Neato.
Banner by attackfish
The princess couldn’t know how much truth she’d spoken that day. The day Ba Sing Se fell, and he’d been betrayed by his own Dai Li. Thrown in prison again and left to rot while the war invaded the city walls.
Never a player? He wondered if he’d been that arrogant in his youth, and if so, why had no one smacked him down. He’d graduated from the game when the princess who’d slain the Avatar wasn’t yet weaned from her mother’s breast. Long Feng was the Grand Master of Ceremonies, and while she thought the game over, it had only been the second quarter of the event.
Like Ba Sing Se, Omashu had repelled the Fire Nation, solely by the mad scheming of her king. Long Feng had studied these methods and as he sat in his cell, he continued to apply what he’d learned.
He could have taken Princess Azula and her companions at any time; it might have been interesting to see how long they’d fair with a bit of Mindbending to turn them. Send them back to their Fire Lord and have them bring back his head. But that would have been a time-consuming risk he couldn’t have afforded, not with the Avatar still around. After he’d retrieved his bison, the opportunity had passed.
Simply killing her would surely bring the Fire Lord’s entire, renewed focus on their walls. He’d heard whispers of flying war machines, ones that could sail over their walls and drop fire and bombs. That was far too much mess to deal with.
Then he’d merely gone with the alternative plan. He was fortunate to have found such loyal men, each one known to him. He’d never have risked turning them and Ba Sing Se over to the princess without knowing they would see that their culture remained intact during what was sure to be a short occupation.
So Long Feng waited.
The eclipse came and went in Ba Sing Se with no incident worth mentioning. The generals had been told of the opportunity, but they’d long since fled and been captured. With no support, it would have been folly to attempt anything.
Of course there’d never been a doubt in his mind that the Avatar - when word reached him, he hadn’t been terribly surprised that he wasn’t truly dead - would win. The princess had known about the eclipse too.
Then one summer day, the air grew hot, as if the world had been thrown into an oven. When Hijo appeared and wordlessly took them to the palace roof with a few simple movements, he saw that he wasn’t far off. His attention was drawn from the burning sky to a pillar of ice that stood in the Middle Ring.
“It would seem we have allies this day. Gather the rest in the courtyard and let’s welcome our visitors to Ba Sing Se.”
The Dai Li agent bowed and left. Alone, Long Feng smiled.
“I love it when a plan comes together.”
Character: Long Feng
Word: 500
Summary: Long Feng stopped playing games a long time ago.
Prompt: Never
First new fic of the New Year. Neato.
Banner by attackfish
The princess couldn’t know how much truth she’d spoken that day. The day Ba Sing Se fell, and he’d been betrayed by his own Dai Li. Thrown in prison again and left to rot while the war invaded the city walls.
Never a player? He wondered if he’d been that arrogant in his youth, and if so, why had no one smacked him down. He’d graduated from the game when the princess who’d slain the Avatar wasn’t yet weaned from her mother’s breast. Long Feng was the Grand Master of Ceremonies, and while she thought the game over, it had only been the second quarter of the event.
Like Ba Sing Se, Omashu had repelled the Fire Nation, solely by the mad scheming of her king. Long Feng had studied these methods and as he sat in his cell, he continued to apply what he’d learned.
He could have taken Princess Azula and her companions at any time; it might have been interesting to see how long they’d fair with a bit of Mindbending to turn them. Send them back to their Fire Lord and have them bring back his head. But that would have been a time-consuming risk he couldn’t have afforded, not with the Avatar still around. After he’d retrieved his bison, the opportunity had passed.
Simply killing her would surely bring the Fire Lord’s entire, renewed focus on their walls. He’d heard whispers of flying war machines, ones that could sail over their walls and drop fire and bombs. That was far too much mess to deal with.
Then he’d merely gone with the alternative plan. He was fortunate to have found such loyal men, each one known to him. He’d never have risked turning them and Ba Sing Se over to the princess without knowing they would see that their culture remained intact during what was sure to be a short occupation.
So Long Feng waited.
The eclipse came and went in Ba Sing Se with no incident worth mentioning. The generals had been told of the opportunity, but they’d long since fled and been captured. With no support, it would have been folly to attempt anything.
Of course there’d never been a doubt in his mind that the Avatar - when word reached him, he hadn’t been terribly surprised that he wasn’t truly dead - would win. The princess had known about the eclipse too.
Then one summer day, the air grew hot, as if the world had been thrown into an oven. When Hijo appeared and wordlessly took them to the palace roof with a few simple movements, he saw that he wasn’t far off. His attention was drawn from the burning sky to a pillar of ice that stood in the Middle Ring.
“It would seem we have allies this day. Gather the rest in the courtyard and let’s welcome our visitors to Ba Sing Se.”
The Dai Li agent bowed and left. Alone, Long Feng smiled.
“I love it when a plan comes together.”