Dragonfire | Mako

NINETEEN

The front gates of the palace opened for her to pass through. The woman walked inside, her back set straight as she turned to the guards that had let her in and sent them a nod of acknowledgement as they bowed. She kept walking straight ahead, climbed the flight of stairs leading to the grand doors of her home, her scarlet robes following her ascent, licking the stairs made of marble.

A woman was waiting for her at the top of the stairs, her face appearing stern until she climbed the staircase and came to a stop in front of her. For a moment the two women looked at each other, both of them dressed in similar silky scarlet robes, a headpiece of a flame on their hair, faces quite similar. Then, the older woman rushed forward, the stern mask of her face disappearing and morphing into concern and then relief as she threw her arms around her daughter's, her eyes closing as she held her tightly.

"Kaida," she rasped as she pulled her closer and slowly, Kaida put her arms around her mother in return as she allowed herself to relax. She was home.

"I'm fine, I'm safe," she told her in a murmur as Izumi held her tighter. "Not even a scratch. I worked with the Avatar and her friends. I made some friends for myself. And I got the Fire Nation in an advantageous political agreement."

Izumi let out a small sigh as she pulled back, her eyes glassy as she placed a hand on each of her daughter's cheeks. "Of course you did. You made me proud once more."

She smiled at the praise as Izumi leaned in and placed a kiss on her forehead. Kaida's eyes closed briefly before she opened them once more. Izumi's hands fell as she grabbed her hands. "Come. Your grandfather is waiting for you. In the meantime, you can tell me what happened in Republic City."

So she did. Kaida told her everything that had happened - leaving out the fact she had snuck out of her hotel room - starting from the moment she arrived in Republic City to the point she got on the ship she sent for her to leave. She told her about Iroh who she claimed appeared as he always did and she had loved to see him again, she mentioned her talk with General Iroh and she made sure to tell her how easy it had been to be friends with Korra and she mentioned Asami, Bolin and Mako, attempting to not talk about Mako more than the rest of them. All the while, Izumi listened carefully as she explained the whole situation, carefully leaving out the parts where she had gotten intimate with a certain firebender. By the time she got to the part where she had left on the ship she had sent for her, they had reached her grandfather's chambers.

"It seems to me like you had an interesting time," Izumi murmured as they came to a stop in front of the door leading to Zuko's chambers. "I'm not willing to let you leave the castle for the sake of a diplomatic meetings for a while, I must admit, but I can clearly see it was something you needed. Perhaps I'll let you take over again soon while I stay back in the Fire Nation to deal with our own matters."

Kaida smiled and nodded at her mother, "Thank you, mother."

Izumi smiled back. "Go on, get in. He's been worried sick about you."

She nodded but didn't leave quite yet. In a rare show of affection, she took a small step forward and kissed her mother's cheek, and with a brief smile at her, knocked on her grandfather's door first and then got inside the moment she heard his reply.

Zuko was standing with his back to her, studying the wall beside a large desk she remembered he had always been working on when she had been little and got to get in his chambers to see him for herself. He was studying his dual swords, carefully put, as if they were purely decorative, but she knew should it come down to it, they were deadly. She had seen him fight with them perhaps once or twice but the memory was etched in her mind. Like fire, the dual swords were a part of her grandfather, constructing his identity. It reminded her of how complex he had always been.