Daughter of the Moon - Book Three: Fire

Chapter 24: It's Hard to Say Goodbye

- Elara -

After Zuko, Katara, and I had defeated Azula, we learned that Aang had, in fact, returned to the world just in time to face Fire Lord Ozai, and he had defeated him and put an end to the war. More notably, however (in my humble opinion), Sokka, Suki, and Toph had done their fair share in helping to end the war efforts as well. They had singlehandedly taken out the entire Fire Nation air fleet that had been sent to burn the Earth Kingdom to a crisp, which was probably the only reason why the Earth Kingdom was still standing today. Even though most of the credit had been directed towards the Avatar, who had somehow learned to take Ozai's bending away at the end of their duel (which I suppose was pretty cool), the near-forgotten trio held a special place in my heart as the true heroes.

And that was it. The war was over. After 100 years of pain and suffering, the world could finally take the first step towards peace.

Once the fighting had ended, everyone had gathered to the Fire Nation to support Zuko as he was crowned the new Fire Lord of the Fire Nation. I got to watch him as he prepared for this historic moment, healing and comforting him every step of the way, and he shared with me his concerns, many of which concerned his worthiness to rule. He had only just turned seventeen, and he hadn't spent too much time preparing to become the Fire Lord in recent years. However, I could see that he was ready. It was almost as if he had been born for this role, and when the day came, he accepted the power gracefully as any rightful ruler should.

And as Zuko was being crowned with the power to rule, I had to face the very serious possibility that I may be given the same task as well. Elder Aibek approached me once again while visiting the Fire Nation for the ceremony, and he asked if I would be willing to reconsider his offer to rule the Moon Warriors. Once again, I rejected his offer, explaining that I was not fit to organize an entire tribe of people. He understood, of course, but apparently if I weren't willing to rule, the Moon Warriors would have no way to reorganize. The tribe would cease to exist, and I allowed it to happen because of my inability to govern a small group of people.

Fortunately, I wasn't given much time to dwell on my disappointments. Soon after Zuko's crowning ceremony in the Fire Nation, my friends and I all traveled to the Ba Sing Se to celebrate the end of the war (and to sign some important peace treaties between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom, but that was Zuko and Aang's problem, not mine). We visited Iroh's tea shop, which had been quickly restored after the great battle held there during Sozin's Comet, and there we simply enjoyed each other's company without the fear of being hunted down or killed. We also joined the people of Ba Sing Se in their festivities to honor us for ending the war, and we had to awkwardly accept their praise and their gifts to us as they put our names up with the Spirits of old.

The shenanigans lasted late into the night, but just before I reached the end of my social rope, Zuko stole me away and guided me back to the lower ring of the city where we traced the streets we had once known. We reminisced about everything we had done there, passing by our old tea shop and apartment while keeping our heads low to avoid being spotted. We both agreed that those were simpler days, and we kept them near and dear to our hearts as we remembered the place that had finally brought us together.

We then made our way to the rolling fields right outside the crowded slums, and we started up a familiar hill as we continued to talk, our hands clasping together to support each other as we hobbled along.

"You know," I began as I spotted a large cluster of fireflies crowding the tree at the top of the hill. "The next time Aang wants to take us flying through a firework show, maybe we should tell him no."

"No kidding," Zuko chuckled as he pulled me closer, wrapping his arm around me as he nuzzled his face into my hair. "I still can't believe that nobody caught on fire."