The Eternal Flame (ATLA) (FIRST PERSON POV)

Chapter 49: Fire Lord's Resolve

We knew what we were getting into. Once word got out about the Fire Lord's decision to pull support from the Harmony Restoration Movement, we prepared for whatever would come our way.

Chaos ensued in the colonies. Revolts broke out, as many people demanded that the Fire Lord take back his word and pull back into the Act. The shouting outside was getting louder, as protestors gathered around the gates of Yu Dao.

I sat in the main mansion sipping a cup of tea, waiting for more reports to come on. Zuko was somewhere else, holing away in his office. I couldn't bother to be with him, hearing his mumblings over papers like a true lunatic. My head was spinning in ways that I hadn't felt before. Exhaustion was seeing into my head. I tried to drink more tea in hopes of the jasmine driving it out.

But the comforts of my tea and empty room didn't stay for long. I heard soldier's shout from outside and surrendered to the chaos outside. But it wasn't a protestor that the soldiers were having trouble with. Outside the building, my eyes widened in surprise to see none other than Aang and Katara. What was even more, Aang, Katara and Zuko held in a stalemate.

Zuko was holding onto Katara's hand as Aang pointed his staff at Zuko.

"Aang?" I called, as he turned around. "What's going on here?"

"Zuko's hurting Katara!" Aang told me as Zuko retorted,

"First, she has to agree to stop attacking my people!"

"Your soldiers attacked first! Let her go now." Aang demanded.

"I am the Fire Lord!" Zuko argued back, "I have to protect the citizens of the Fire Nation." I pinched my temples together, trying to sort through their words. But before I could say anything, Aang took a deep breath and blasted Zuko back with a blast of wind.

"I came here to talk to you, Zuko! As a friend! But you've changed!" Aang advanced on Zuko. "You've forgotten what we fought for!" I winced as Aang's eyes started to glow. "Maybe Avatar Roku is right. Maybe a promise is a promise." My mind flashed back to Zuko's plea to Aang and I rushed in-between the two as as Katara grabbed Aang's hand to calm him down.

"Both of you need to calm down! I said, whacking Zuko on the head. I turned to Aang and Katara "Look, we knew that pulling out the Restoration Movement would cause some outrage, but this is ridiculous!" I turned to the soldiers that had attacked Aang and Katara. "And who gave you permission to attack the Avatar?!" They quickly bowed.

"Our sincerest apologies Lady Kira, we were only-"

"I don't want to hear anymore excuses!" I snapped, "Just get back to your posts." They hurried away as I turned to Aang and Katara again. "If you want to talk, we can talk."

Aang's face contorted and turned furiously red. "That's what I wanted to do in the first place!"

After a few minutes of calming him down we exited the mansion to take a walk around You Dao.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zuko led Katara and Aang through the streets of Yu Dao, explaining the situation to them.

You Dao had been one of the oldest colonies. Fire Nation families had immigrated here hundreds of years ago. You Dao had only been a tiny village. With the combined knowledge of the Earth Kingdom's people and Fire Nation blacksmiths, Yu Dao became known for their metalworks, having the finest metalworks ever produced. It was a rich city, and it wasn't because of one nation, but two. Zuko and I had to admit, the divide between Fire Nation citizens and Earth Kingdom citizens was still there, but the divide was smaller than we had ever anticipated. It was worth it to work through, to improve and cultivate what was already there.