"Did you know that Yu Dao is the oldest of all the colonies?" Fire Lord Zuko led Katara and Aang through the busy streets of Yu Dao. "Many of the Fire Nation families here immigrated over a hundred years ago when Yu Dao was just a tiny village at the bottom of a valley. Together with the Earth Kingdom people who were already here, they built all this."
Zuko took them to one of the blacksmith workshops and showed the display of swords, work tools and parts. "Yu Dao now makes the finest metalwork ever produced, using both Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom expertise. That's why this is one of the richest cities in the world."
"It doesn't seem like the Fire Nation citizens and the Earth Kingdom citizens share equally in that wealth..." Katara commented, looking across the street at a Earth Kingdom teen polishing the shoes of a Fire Nation noble.
"It's not perfect, Katara, but all the city's peoples, including the Earth Kingdom people, are better off now than they were a hundred years ago."
"The history lesson's great and all, but none of it matters! By betraying the Harmony Restoration Movement, you're going to start another war!"
Zuko exhaled deeply, exhaustion clear through the dark circles under his eyes. "Look, Aang, when I came here a week ago, I had planned to personally enforce the removal of my citizens in Yu Dao, but then I saw everything. I saw what my people created here. I saw what the Harmony Restoration Movement could destroy. And I changed my mind."
The argument escalated between Aang and Zuko. It was clear that neither of them would give way anytime soon, so Katara decided to mediate. "Regardless of your opinions, the Earth King needs to be a part of whatever happens next. If Aang and I can arrange a meeting, will you be there, Zuko?"
They thought about it for a while, but agreed, nonetheless.
That afternoon, Zuko went back to the Capital, hoping to finally find some rest that has been eluding him for so long. When the soldiers told him that someone was waiting for him in the throne room, he ran as if his life depended on it, hoping that that someone would be who he thought it to be.
To his disappointment, it was Ty Lee. "Hey, Zu—I mean, Fire Lord Zuko!" She waved at him with her fan, a big grin on her face, a box in the other hand.
"Hello, Ty Lee." He said, dispirited as he entered the throne room. "What brings you here to the palace?"
"Umm... I figure this would explain everything." She quickly handed him the box. "I have to go, routine check with the other warriors, See ya!"
As soon as she left, Zuko sat on the throne and inspected the box's contents. Inside were several small vials filled with clear liquid and a folded letter.
His heart lit up as he recognized the handwriting. It was Chiyo's.
Dearest Fire Lord Zuko,
I heard about what happened in the Capital. If only I could run to where you are, I would, but I can't. The Capital is too far from Hira'a to go on foot! I'm sorry, that was uncalled for. And I'm sorry too for not having written in so long. Every day has been so busy with the play that I barely get to rest, but don't worry! I am taking care of myself, and I am keeping out of trouble.
I am having so much fun here, especially with Kiyi! I am learning so many new things! I wish you could be here with me. Maybe someday you could take a day-off from being Fire Lord and come here! I'll introduce you to Noren and Noriko, and I know Kiyi would love you! Also, Noriko taught me how to make some calming tonics to help with your restless nights. Just take one vial before you go to bed.
Ty Lee and Suki will be bringing the letter and the medicine to you. I have asked them for a favor that they happily accepted. The Kyoshi Warriors are the best warriors I know. Nothing can get past them, not even a shadow. I know you'll say you can handle yourself, but this extra measure of security will put my mind at ease. Can you do that for me?
I'll be back before you know it. A promise is a promise.
Forever and always yours,
Chiyo
Zuko smiled as he traced the small doodle of a fire lily at the bottom of the letter, her signature. He, too, wished to be by her side. "She can make it all go away, all these uncertainties and nightmares."
But there was one more person who would know what to do with the situation in Yu Dao.
He tucked the letter into the folds of his robes, close to his troubled heart, and ordered the eunuch to call for a Council meeting.
Night fell and he asked Sol to prepare some tea. Dressed plainly, he walked out of the palace through the gates and headed for the Capital Prison.
He faced the man in the cell, poured him a cup of tea, and bowed his head. "I need your advice... father."
And so they had they had tea, Ozai behind bars, Zuko in front of him. They were silent for a few minutes, before Ozai spoke. "Do you remember those family vacations we used to take on Ember Island?"
Zuko could barely remember them. They were distant memories, long buried at the back of his mind. But still he nodded.
"Once at the beach, you couldn't have been older than three at the time, we saw a hawk attacking a turtle-crab by the water. You ran as fast as your little legs would carry you to rescue the turtle-crab. Even then, you possessed an odd affinity for the weak."
He saw it in his mind, blurred flashes of him cradling the turtle-crab in his arms, the hawk staring down at him, perched on a rock.
"You hesitated," Ozai continued. "The hawk looked at you with hungry eyes, and you realized, you were condemning it to starve. You were conflicted, but before you could reach a decision, a giant wave washed over you and carried you out into the ocean. And I saved you. You spent the rest of the day in your mother's arms, vomiting saltwater."
"I came here looking for advice. I want to know how you were able to sleep peacefully despite the pressures of the throne."
"And I told you."
He growled under his breath and stood up, frustrated that he had wasted his time. "I don't see how an old family memory—"
"I'm tired, Zuko. We're done talking for now. Perhaps we'll continue tomorrow." Ozai had stood up as well and returned to his cot. "Bring more tea."
"Run it again!" The playwright, Man Wol, shouted at the actors on stage. The stout, balding man waved a scroll in his right hand. "The play is in a week! I want everything to be perfect! Run the scene again!"
The actress sighed and cleared her throat before saying her lines. "When I was an apprentice, just like you were, I lived in a small village in the Earth Kingdom with my beloved Ching—"
"It's Xin!" Frustration was evident with the playwright's quickly reddening face. "XIN!"
"-Xin. His parents did not approve of me, and so we planned to run away. That night, the Fire Nation soldiers attacked—"
"Put some emotion to it!"
"In the attack, I lost my husband... and our unborn child."
"Stop, stop stop!" Man Wol sighed, disappointed, rubbing his temples to alleviate the stress. "Let's take a break and run it again!"
The actors left for lunch and he grabbed a quill to make quick revisions on the script. He was broken out of his reverie when a cup of tea was placed on his desk, along with a plate of sweet bread. "You should take your own advice, sir, and rest." Chiyo smiled as she sat across from him, looking over the parchment.
"I would love to have a break and spend the rest of the day chatting with you, my darling muse. But as you know, showbiz is very taxing and requires my full attention!" He sighed, taking a sweet bread and biting into it as he scribbled more notes into the script. "And it doesn't help that the actress playing Lady Suiren is a bit inexperienced. And the script... I find it lackluster... Lady Suiren's life was vivid! And dark! And bright! All at the same time! I'm having a hard time capturing the soul of the story into words..."
Chiyo looked over the script. The scene was set a year after Zuko's banishment. She was fourteen, and slowly learning about the complexities of their life, of her mentor's past, and the reason they were here.
It was the first time Lady Suiren told Chiyo her story.
"Could you perhaps look into it, my Lady? I want to see it from a different perspective, perhaps something, raw, something that would shut me up for the rest of the day, and make me ponder my place in the universe!" She was brought out of the memory as Man Wol pleaded her.
She shrugged and took the script that was offered to her, standing up and taking a huge breath. She pictured the memory, clearer now, the image of her mentor's pained expression as she bared herself to a young girl.
"When I was an apprentice, just like you were, I lived in a small village in the Earth Kingdom with my beloved Xin."
"His parents were the village leaders, and to say that they did not approve of our love was a grave understatement." Lady Suiren laughed bitterly as she brushed Chiyo's long dark hair with care. "I mean, how could they? Xin had his life ahead of him. He was smart, he was handsome, he was destined for great things. And what was I but a lowly apprentice entertainer, with no future to look forward to."
Chiyo had looked into the mirror, watching her with sad eyes as she continued her tale. "But despite all my flaws, Xin loved me. And I loved him. For us, that was all we needed. We planned to run away. To where? Only the gods know. All we knew was that, when we leave the village, we will be finally be free. Us, and our unborn child."
Suiren sighed deeply, her honey-colored eyes shut tight as she seemed to relive the pain of her memory. "That night, Fire Nation soldiers attacked the village. They came and burned everything to the ground. They took what little of value we had and laughed as we suffered. Three men cornered Xin and I as we attempted to escape."
The young girl turned to the lady and held one hand in both of hers, hoping to give comfort, but the lady was lost in her painful memories. "They made me watch as he burned. I can hear his blood-curling screams to this day, haunting me. It will forever be etched into my memory until the day I die. I will always remember the faces of the soldiers that killed Xin, defiled me, and left me for dead in the streets."
"In that one night, that night we were meant to be free, I lost Xin... I lost my child... And I lost all hope that things would and could be better." Chiyo opened her eyes, the tears she had been holding back fell.
Man Wol's mouth hung open, as did the actors who had returned in the middle of her monologue. Even Noren was silent, his expression vacant, but his eyes held the same sadness that was in Chiyo's.
It could have been seconds, minutes or hours of silence, but Man Wol took the script with shaking hands and began rewriting everything furiously, with renewed vigor and inspiration,
Not a word left his lips for the rest of the day.
"I stayed up all night thinking about what you said." Zuko returned the next night, with tea and thoughts for his father. "At the beach, I was overwhelmed by the circumstances because I couldn't decide whose side to take. I should've sided with the hawk. It was strong and noble, much like the Fire Nation. It had earned its meal."
He gripped the cup in his hands tight, staring into his father's eyes that matched his own. "But I've already done that, father! I'm no longer neglecting the needs of my own people, as I did when I first took the throne! And still, I can't sleep!"
Ozai downed his drink and set it on the tray. "You're only partially correct in your assessment. Your sleeplessness does indeed stem from your inability to choose sides, to distinguish what is right. But you're wrong about the hawk."
"S-so you're saying I should have defended the turtle-crab?" I should have sided with the weaker if the two?"
"What I'm saying is this—There is no right or wrong apart from what you decide! Who you choose to defend deserves to be defended simply because you chose them. You are the Fire Lord. What you choose, by definition, is right."
"NO! Right and wrong are bigger than me or you, or even the Avatar! I believe that we can come closest to what's right by working together!
"Do you really think the Earth King, after being humiliated time and time again by our mighty nation and his own incompetence will be reasonable? Do you think he'll treat the remaining Fire Nation colonials fairly?" Ozai held a clenched fist in front of his son. "In an attempt to restore his own dignity, he'll send out his army to crush them!"
Zuko let his father's words sink in. If he was in the Earth King's place, he definitely would not sit idly by with his dignity in tatters. If he was in the Earth King's place, he would rectify the situation, one way or another.
"If you truly are the Fire Lord, you will defend the Fire Nation citizens of Yu Dao ferociously! Not simply because they are your people, but because they are an expression of your will! The Avatar is an irrelevant relic of a bygone age! He wants to keep the world frozen in time by denying the inevitable victory of the strong over the weak!"
"Avatar Aang is my friend! More often than not, he's been on the side that's right! I trust him!"
"More than you trust yourself?"
Sidebar: I'm watching The Legend of Korra for the first time. I'm in Season 2 and so far, everything's cool. I'm certainly getting a lot of ideas. And I do mean A LOT. I wish I could vent them to the readers, but that would spoil the fun, wouldn't it?
*sees Iroh II, then hears Zuko's voice*
Author-nim: *screams at the laptop*
Chiyo: *screams with Author-nim*
-TheGreatestConWoman-
Btw, this might be my best record yet, 2657 words in less than 4 hours. Dang, I'm exhausted.