Water Lily in a Sea of Fire

Chapter 32: Family Reunion

Iroh, Zuko, and Chiara remained at the spa resort. During their stay, Iroh took advantage of the quiet time by walking the beach or relaxing in the spa. Chiara kept busy having taken up work as a seamstress, or cooking, or cleaning which it made it easier for her to deal with her memories of the Siege. She was even able to sleep through the night as her nightmares lessened in intensity. Zuko, however, had been growing increasingly tense and upset. Even he struggled with the loss of his people at the North Pole, so many Fire Nation soldiers unnecessarily sacrificed to Zhao's ego, possibly even his own crewmen. But now he was stranded in the northern Earth Kingdom with no Avatar, no way to travel, and little hope of going home. He was anxious to resume his mission, and he was frustrated by their current circumstances, especially since he felt he was in the middle of two extremes: Iroh refused to do anything and showed no interest in leaving the resort any time soon and Chiara refused to sit still. To him her constant work amounted to slavery, and he nagged her about it on a daily basis, but it did not stop her from leaving the cottage every morning to busy herself with anything that would keep her mind occupied.

It had been nearly two weeks since they had arrived at the resort. Zuko was making his way towards the cottage after a firebending session down at the beach to blow off steam and keep up his training. When he saw Chiara walking up the path towards their little bungalow, he stood outside and waited for her. When she spotted him, she suspected she was in trouble by his crossed arms and the scowl he was wearing on his face.

"Where's the General?" she asked him before he could start griping at her.

"He's still at the beach. You should've been home hours ago," he snapped.

"I lost track of time."

"You're doing too much there," he complained. "You're never here."

It was the same argument every day, but she refused to sit around the cottage moping.

"I like keeping busy."

"We need to figure out where we're going next," he said.

"Why can't we stay here a while longer?" she asked. "It's relaxing, and I like seeing the General happy. He really needs this, and he's been enjoying it so much."

"You haven't taken any time to relax. All you've been doing since we got here is work while he sits around being fat and lazy," he complained, pointing in the direction where Iroh was approaching them.

"I don't mind, Prince Zuko. He deserves it. Besides, the work keeps my mind off...other things."

He sighed. He could vent through his firebending, but it troubled him that as a non-bender she would only cope with her stress by being a slave to a bunch of strangers.

Iroh strolled past them after his long walk on the beach.

"Look at these magnificent shells," he said entering the cottage and dropping several on the table.

They followed him inside.

"I'll enjoy these keepsakes for years to come." He held one up admiring it.

Chiara gently smiled at him.

"We don't need anymore useless things," Zuko complained. "You forget, we have to carry everything ourselves now. And while you're spending time collecting this junk, Chiara's been working like a slave..."

"It suits her," came a drawling voice from behind them.

All three turned to see Azula sitting comfortably in a chair in a dark corner of the room.

"Hello, brother...Uncle," she greeted them.  "Chiara," she added with a deeper tone of spitefulness.

Zuko's initial shock passed quickly. "What are you doing here?" he asked deeply.