Whirlwind [Avatar Aang]

☁Epilogue☁

"Thank you all for coming here today," Nazadori said quickly before they all went outside without her. She caught Avatar Aang's eye, and he gave her a small, crooked smile. Her heart soared in her chest, trying to blot out the anxiety swirling through her veins. "I don't think I could have made it to this point without any of you."

Gazon hurried everyone outside, stifling their answers, but she knew they were happy to be there with her. She stood alone in the palace, right in front of the gates, and her heart swelled in her chest. This was what Bumi had wanted her to do when he chose her to follow in his footsteps. She trusted Bumi and knew that she could do this. She could, and she would.

Nazadori stepped outside and into her destiny.

"Long live the Queen!" Gazon shouted, raising up the scepter high above her head as he completed the long and laborious coronation ceremony. She stood to her full height and stared out at the people -- her people. The weight of the world settled down on her shoulders, but she squared them and faced the crowd. Deep in her heart, she knew this was what she was meant to do. "Long live the Queen!"

Those four words echoed around her as the public started shouting at her, raising their fists toward the bright blue sky. An earthbender -- her very own sister, the new captain of the Queen's Guards -- raised her on an earthen shelf so that she raised slightly in front of the people. Air whipped around her small frame, and she was glad that her sister hadn't raised her too tall, or else she would have fallen off. Thankfully, her brother stood at attention, finally getting off of his silly little cushion.

Tears pricked her eyes, and she blinked hard, trying to keep them at bay before they fell down her cheeks. She didn't want to cry in front of everyone in the city of Omashu, but today was bittersweet. She was excited for her future as queen, but there should have been someone else ruling, a king who was a little loopy but thought everyone deserved a chance. He should have been there to see her step into her future.

Bumi gave her a chance, and she was never letting it go. 

She allowed a few tears to slip down her cheeks as she smiled at the people. Raising a hand, the chanting immediately stopped, and she said, "Thank you all for joining me here today. This is a bittersweet occasion for all of us, I'm sure. I know it is for me. King Bumi had become a mentor for me, someone who I could trust when I didn't think I could trust anyone. He saw something in me -- saw a future I never could picture. He believed in me when I needed it most."

Nazadori had to take a few moments to swallow the lump in her throat. She wasn't about to burst into tears in front of everyone, so she looked away from everyone for just a second, focusing her gaze on Avatar Aang, who stood a few feet away from her with the other council members. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, but he looked so proud of her. 

After Bumi died, Aang was the one who stepped up and believed in her when she couldn't see past her own grief. She owed everything to him. Hopefully, she would be able to tell him just how much she appreciated him. The look on his face told her that their future hadn't ended just yet. It had only just begun.

When she looked back to the crowd, her eyes found her mother at the front of everyone else. She held a silk handkerchief against her mouth, though no tears were falling down her cheeks right now. Nazadori had no idea what was going through her mother's head -- they hadn't spoken in weeks. But she was here now, and maybe, just maybe, Nazadori could find a resolution to the anger and resentment she held for her mother. She hoped she could step away from that toward a brighter day.

"I stand before you now as your Queen of Omashu," Nazadori continued, looking directly at her mother. She felt stronger now that she had looked at Aang like she was standing on top of the world. "And I ask you to let go of all your preconceived notions of who you think I am. We need to be united together so we can stand tall as a city. Today is a fresh start for a new era of Omashu, but I can only do it with your help." Her mother was so far away, but Nazadori could see her mother nod once. Her heart swelled in her chest. "With your help, Omashu can enter its Golden Age -- the age where everyone belongs, where everyone is safe, where everyone is loved. That is my goal for my reign, and I hope you all will help me with it."

In the summer of 106 AG, a whirlwind of love and pain would begin the reign of Queen Nazadori. 

Pain for the death of the beloved king of Omashu, King Bumi. Pain for the lies that spread throughout the first few official months of Queen Nazadori's reign -- lies that told people that she was not good enough, that she was a thief to the throne of Omashu. Pain for the loneliness that pervaded through the Queen -- loneliness from her family, from the people she was supposed to rule over, from everyone.

But love . . . that was what prevailed, that was what triumphed over all of the pain. Love for the hurt, love for the broken, love for the lowly, and love for the meek. Love for the happy, love for the whole, love for the rich, and love for the brave. Love for the City, love for the World. And most of all, love for the Queen of Omashu -- a kind of love that she hadn't ever expected, a kind of love that she had always wanted, a kind of love she deserved. 

"Long live the Queen!"

THE END