The sound of hurried steps reverberated all throughout the walls of the massive but empty dark halls; soft pants accompanied the only other disturbance in the otherwise silent palace. A young, lean boy made his way to the biggest room in the left wing at top speed, his hand clenching for dear life the scroll of parchment he was entrusted with. Once he arrived at the tall red double doors, he stopped to take a breath and calm his erratic heartbeat, for he knew that the moment he crossed those doors he must show nothing but ideal composure.

The few seconds that followed the knock seemed like the longest in the young boy’s life, each second bringing a new feeling of anxiousness deep inside his gut until, at last, a small gap between the doors allowed the face of a woman to be seen. Her dark and empty eyes demanded a quick explanation for such a disturbance in the late hours of the night.

“I have a message for the general,” his firm voice declared, holding out the parchment for the lady to see.

“And couldn’t it wait until tomorrow? The general has just arrived after an arduous mission in the earth kingdom, she must rest for the night,” the palace maid said. Her words came with a cutting tone of finality that made the young lad in front of her tremble in fear, for if he didn’t deliver the message in time it would be his head that rolled first thing tomorrow morning.

“I’m afraid it can’t. She must read it now.”

“Must? You dare order around-!”

The strict reprimand the woman was about to unleash upon him was curtly interrupted by the melodious voice of a woman from within calling out.

“It’s alright Ha Yi, let him come.”

“As you wish, my lady.” The maid bowed to the direction where the general’s voice was heard. “Do you wish me to assist you in getting out of the bath first?”

“It won’t be necessary, as I’m sure our friend here will be quick.”

“But my lady you-”

“As I said, it’s okay.” She dismissed her, an elegant flick of her delicate wrist was all it took for the maid to finally let the boy inside and lead him to where her master was.

The inside of the room seemed to stretch larger than the double doors indicated, the ceiling reaching impossibly high where a dome window allowed the starry night to be visible. The full moon shed a bright ray on the center of the room giving the room a certain feeling of etherealness. To the left a queen sized, four posted bed stood tall and proud, draped with the most expensive silks and pillows the nation had to offer. A huge shelf to the side of the bed displayed numerous sets of weapons from all around the world, each polished with the finesse expected from only the best smiths to exist. Further down he could make out the curtains that seemed to lead to a walk in closet where he did not dwell further. On the right side of the room (and to the young man’s astonishment) was, for everyone to see, a marble bathtub, big enough to be confused as a pool, littered with rose petals all around. And in the water, a young woman of striking beauty sat watching his every move.

The woman was not bothered at all by the situation in which the boy found her in. She merely smiled, a set of pearly white teeth showing through her rosy plump lips which had successfully snatched away what little breath the boy had in him.

“What’s your name?” She asked, kindly but firmly.

“M-My name is Minhee, my lady” He clumsily bowed, not daring to raise his head now that he was in the presence of one of the strongest figures in the palace.

“Raise your head.” Once he hesitantly followed her orders she continued. “Do you see this?”

With a lazy flourish of her wrist she gestured to the spacious bathtub where she rested, making Minhee blush a deep crimson and release a short, embarrassed nod.

“You better have a good explanation for interrupting my long awaited bath time, Minhee. I’ve been in battle for months now and today finally I got to come back home and take time for myself.” Her smile, as beautiful as it was, contained a certain sharpness to it that made it quite clear that whatever he said next better be worth it, or else the consequences he’ll face won’t be quite as gracious.

“My lady, the great general Park Taewoong sent me to personally deliver this message to you,” he said, holding up the scroll up for general Park Roseanne to see for herself.

At the name of her father, Rosé couldn’t help but to raise one perfectly sculpted eyebrow in surprise. It’s been a while since her father reached out to her, far too busy with the political affairs against the northern water tribe to pay any mind to his only daughter. So it must be quite the important message for him to suddenly contact her.

A simple nod was all it took for her maid to rush forward and take the message from the boy and bring it to her.

“You’re dismissed Minhee, thank you,” she lazily replied, eyes not straying away from the contents in the scroll. Another wave of her hand was all it took for the boy to heave a sigh of relief and quickly leave the general’s private quarters, knowing that at least for now he had another day to live.

As she finished reading the contents of the scroll she let out a disappointed sigh. “So much for daddy’s approval”, she bitterly thought as she burned the message until not even ashes were left of it.

It seems that no matter what she does, she won’t ever be enough for her father. Apparently, he was beyond displeased with her performance at the earth kingdom. Failing to capture the troublemaker Lalisa Manoban wasn’t her fault, Rosé angrily thought. She only came to know about the street rat’s crimes a month ago and she was by far more concerned in conquering the western coast of the kingdom, something that she successfully accomplished. But of course her father would pay no mind to it, merely brushing it off with “It’s your duty Roseanne. It is expected of you.”

She didn’t know whether to take it as an insult for him to send her so soon after battle to the abandoned eastern air temple, to take it and transform it into another base for the Fire Nation. She, Roseanne Park, one of the most powerful generals the Fire Nation has seen in centuries, second only to her father and Fire Lord, reduced to this? No. She couldn’t allow it, not anymore.

She will go, she decided but she will do so in her own terms and what purpose the temple will serve for will be up to her and no one else, not her father. Her. Perhaps this could be her chance to prove herself far more worthy than her father to the Fire Lord. Yeah, she could do that. She will explore the zone, study it, learn every nook and cranny, every secret and use it to her advantage, improve it and offer the Fire Nation something it hasn’t seen before, something… majestic.

“Ha Yi, leave the towels here. You can rest for the night.” She clapped, taking a scoop of water and pouring it over her hair, finally letting herself fully relax. “Oh and make sure to inform Lee Minhyuk that we’ll be leaving for the eastern air temple in a fortnight first thing in the morning.”

~~XX~~

“Do you have everything ready?” Rosé kindly asked.

After her meeting with the Fire Lord she was feeling excited, perhaps even happy. How unlikely it is that the Fire Lord himself seemed to be what her father could never be. Impressed. By her, by her work, by her pure raw talent. He had praised her, in front of each and every general present in the room for all her victories (and they were quite a lot if she says so herself). Oh, what Rosé would have given for her father’s face to be immortalized at that moment so she could stare and laugh all day long. He looked jealous, of her! The very own person he liked to denigrate so much.

The best part however wasn’t even that, no. It was how her father’s own orders for her to go to the wretched eastern air temple had been completely dismissed by the Fire Lord. He had demanded she celebrate and take the rest she has earned for however long she wanted. In other words, she was free to do whatever she wanted for the time being and there was nothing her father could do about it!

What he doesn’t know is that she was still planning to go to the air temple for two reasons: One, without having to take a whole entourage of soldiers she was free to do absolutely anything she wanted with the temple. She didn’t have to follow any protocol and the chances of any soldier foolishly blabbering about her deeds and it reaching her father would be zero. And two, if somehow news about her whereabouts broke out she could always play the part of the dutiful daughter and devoted general too concerned with the Fire Nation’s growth to pass up such an opportunity.

So yes, she would only take her most trusted captain and soldier with her and finally set in motion what she was sure could be a fantastic move for the nation.

“We do, my general.” Lee Minhyuk, her darling captain and best friend winked. He was by the deck preparing one of the smallest but fastest airships for the journey along with Min Yoongi, a talented soldier she was grooming to become her successor.

Once they were up in the air, the three of them alone, Minhyuk finally made his way to Rosé’s side on the wheel. “I have great news for you.”

“Well get on with it already!” She smirked, waving Yoongi to come closer and listen as well.

“Lalisa Manoban has been spotted again and you won’t believe where,” he chuckled. “It seems your instincts are still unparalleled, Rosé. She was last seen making her way through Chameleon Bay and going into the eastern sea, and you know where she would have to make a stop?”

“The eastern air temple.” She smiled. “How did you get this information?”

“A friend of mine sent me a letter about the undomesticated ape causing a ruckus on her way to the bay.”

“Well, I guess it’s time to show that beast just why you don’t mess with the Fire Nation. Yoongi, pull the accelerator at maximum work, we can’t let that rat escape anymore.”

The moment they landed safely on the floor Rosé knew that for once, the fates seemed to smile at her. The air temple itself was impressive, for peasants. The airbenders that used to reside in it did an impeccable job at building such a resistant fortress. For starters, the state in which it was found even after so many years was remarkable; yes it had more than a couple of structures completely destroyed and the moss and wild vegetation threatened to swallow at least two of the three buildings that conformed it, but it was nothing that couldn’t be easily dealt with. Her sharp ears detected a plethora of tiny noises that indicated wild life was finally coming back to the temple, meaning it was still more than safe to habituate and they would hardly run out of food to eat. Overall it was a great set up for her project. Once she could properly assess the full state of the temple on the inside she could get started on her plans of improvement.

“Say Minhyuk, when do you think the street rat will grace us with her undesirable presence?” The blonde haired general asked, carefully crouching on the ground to inspect the surface for any signs of someone else already roaming the place.

“If my calculations are correct, which they always are, she should be making herself present as soon as the sun falls at the very most.” He smirked in kind, already making his way inside the buildings and sneering at the sight of what looked like bird littering the floors from the hallway.

“How opportune,” Yoongi monotonously said. A deep frown immediately took its place on his face as he glanced at the other t