Nazadori paced up and down the hallway in her home, her shoulders brushing against the tight walls. Her feet by now were probably wearing a hole in the ground, but she couldn't stop moving or else her mind was going to explode. She would gladly let her mind explode, though. How was she going to be a queen when she could hardly be a good student all those years ago? She wished that Bumi could have explained what he thought when he decided to put her in charge of the whole city.
She slowed to a stop in the middle of the short hallway, her heart thudding painfully against her chest. The house was entirely silent, but her ears were filled with blood rushing past her eardrums. Terror settled in the pit of her stomach like a heavy piece of earth, and it nearly dragged her down to the ground beneath her feet. She managed to stay standing as the weight of grief and confusion sat on both her shoulders.
Nazadori's beloved king had died. She had worked by his side for a little over a year, and while that may not seem like a long time, she grew to love the old man dearly. Bumi was a strange person, but he was her best friend outside of her family, and he actually believed in her. Maybe that was the reason why he put her in charge of his precious city because he thought she could do it. But she couldn't do it.
She started pacing again, this time quicker. She wasn't the right person to run this city! She had no clue how the government was run, nor did she care that much about it. She thought government things were boring and full of men who thought that going to war was the best thing they could do instead of changing how they ran things. She was not ready to break this glass ceiling, and honestly, she didn't want to.
Suddenly, a hand gripped her shoulder, pulling her to a stop. Fear spiraled through her chest. Did someone already know that she was going to be the queen of Omashu, and they came here to kill her before she would even be crowned? It didn't matter that people didn't know where she lived because the fear shifted to anger. She reached behind her, grabbed onto the arm, and, stooping low, pulled the person over her shoulder, flipping them onto the ground in front of her. She was proud of her move but frowned when she saw her older sister lying on the ground.
Mava stared up at Nazadori with a hurt expression on her face, her dark hair spilling around her shoulders. Her chest was rising and falling quickly, and she said, "Nazadori! It's just me!"
Nazadori immediately let go of Mava's arm, dropping it to the rest of her body. She scrubbed a hand across her face, sighing. "Don't come up on me like that," she said, sticking a hand out for Mava to grab. She just stared at it.
"What is wrong with you?" she asked.
"Are Mother and Baleng home yet?" Nazadori asked her sister, moving her arm back to her side. She wondered why Mava didn't want to grab it since she was used to practicing self-defense with Nazadori all the time. "Because I have huge news."
"No, but they're on their way home." Mava rubbed her arm as she stood up, a frown on her face. She brushed her green clothes off, making dust float around them. Nazadori immediately sneezed, and Mava laughed. "Ha! That's karma!"
"Um, excuse me?" It was Nazadori's turn to frown at her sister. She only grinned at her, a dimple showing on her left cheek as she stared at her younger sister. Nazadori crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at her. "How is that karma? You were the one who scared me."
"You're an easy target since you're always so strung up." Mava laughed as Nazadori reached out and hit her shoulder. Nazadori couldn't believe that Mava would say that to her, especially since she had the biggest news of the century riding in her heart, but it wasn't Mava's fault that she didn't know that. "Anyway, what's the big news you have?"
Nazadori shook her head triumphantly. "I'm not telling you yet. I'm waiting until Mother and Baleng get home." Mava gasped loudly, placing a hand on her chest like Nazadori physically hurt her. She giggled at the look on her older sister's face, patting her shoulder for a second. Nazadori said, "Did you know you're a funny person, Mava?"
"Rude."
Before Nazadori could answer, she heard the front door slam open. Hurrying down the hallway, she sighed when she saw her brother carrying a bag full of vegetables into the house, setting it on the table that was low to the floor. Her mother floated into the house, gently shutting the door behind her. She looked right at Nazadori, who ducked back into the hallway, her heart racing in her chest.
"They're back," Mava said like Nazadori didn't just watch the rest of their family enter the house. Sneaking a glance over at her older sister, Nazadori saw her staring at her with her dark green eyes. "You said you will tell us about your big news once they got back, and they're back now."
"I know, I know," she said, closing her eyes as she rested her head against the earthen wall. She sucked in a deep breath as her mind ran through all the possibilities of what she could do, like run away right then or pray to the spirits that she would melt through the floor. None of those things happened, so she said, "Go out there and distract them for a minute."
"But --"
"Please."
Mava left without another word, leaving Nazadori in the empty hallway. She opened her eyes, and she had the strongest urge to run away from everything. That'd be easier, right? For Nazadori, it would, but then she would live the city without a queen, and she couldn't do that. She pictured Bumi in her mind's eye, and he was grinning at her, looking like the man that found her in the streets so long ago. She had to do this -- for him. Only for him.
Pushing off of the wall, she slowly walked into the other room. Belang and Mava were sitting at the low table, eating lychee nuts that were in a small wooden bowl. Mother was putting the other food away in the kitchen. Nazadori cleared her throat, and the three of them glanced over at her. Mava gave her a small but encouraging nod, which was what Nazadori needed right then.
"I have some news," she said softly. Mother motioned toward her, so she walked more into the room, but she didn't sit down with the rest of them besides her mother. Instead, she stood there, holding her hands in front of her body, staring at the three of them. Her cheeks heated up as they all stared at her expectantly. "Right, I have to tell you."
"What is it, honey?" Mother asked, cocking her head to the side. "What's wrong?"
"Um, Bumi is dead," Nazadori said, suddenly emotional. The advisors had all agreed that they wouldn't tell the public yet about the death of their beloved king. It was too soon for those closest to him, and those that weren't in the city were notified of his death so that they can clear their schedule for the upcoming funeral. She personally wrote the letter to the Avatar. But the public didn't know yet, not until the beginning of the funeral procession which was happening tomorrow. But she couldn't just not tell her family, not during one of the hardest times of her life. Seeing the shocked faces of her family hurt her deeply to the core, and it was all she could do to hold it together. "I was there when he died, and then the advisors told me that I . . ." She hesitated for a second. "I am going to be the next queen of Omashu."
For a second there, the three of them started at her, sadness and surprise fighting on their faces. Nazadori understood how they were feeling because she never thought in a million years that she would be queen of her home. It looked like her siblings thought the same way because Baleng said, "You're going to be queen? Who in their right mind would choose you?"
Nazadori swallowed hard, anger pushing her sadness away. "Bumi chose me," she snapped, balling her hands at her sides. "I get that you think I might not be the best choice, but at least you could be happy for me."
"I am happy," Baleng said, holding his hands up while Mava and Mother glared at him, "but I'm confused. Why were you chosen?"
"I don't know. All I know is that I'm going to be queen, and I don't have a say in that." Mother looked over at Nazadori with a look she couldn't read. She let out a sigh, shaking her head. She said, "We're going to start Bumi's funeral procession tomorrow, and I'd like you guys to come with me. I'm going to walk with the procession with the other advisors, but we're not going to tell the public who the next monarch is going to be."
"Why are you guys keeping this all a secret?" Mava asked, cocking her head to the side. Her long, dark hair brushed against the floor, and Nazadori wanted to braid it up for her instead of having this horrible conversation. "A successful government doesn't keep secrets from its people."
"I know, but right now, we're in an unstable time by not having a monarch at the head of the city," Nazadori said, shrugging. She wasn't in most of those meetings, but she knew that she had to keep this a secret for a little while longer. "It'll be out soon." She met her family's gazes and saw different shades of feelings in them. Mava looked like she didn't trust any of the words coming out of Nazadori's mouth while Baleng looked bored with this conversation already. The only one she couldn't read was her mother. "I promise."
Her family all remained silent. She had no idea what was going on in their minds right now. She didn't even know what was going on in her mind right now with all this chaos. She hadn't had the time to sit and think about what she had witnessed, about what she had seen, about what she had found out. Nazadori suddenly felt exhausted from all of this -- from her family, from her advisors, from life. But she couldn't just give up now. No, she was going to be Queen. She had to be strong, if not for herself, then for her country when they needed her the most.
Wringing her hands until they were going numb, Nazadori watched as Bumi's old advisers walked around the throne room, taking care of small business matters. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do, so she stood in the corner of the room, watching as they did her job for her. She was the one who was supposed to be queen, after all. But she had no idea what to do yet, not until the meetings with Bumi's -- her -- advisors in the upcoming days.
She slowed to a stop as Gazon made his way over to her, a frown on his weathered face. He was dressed head to toe in the darkest shade of green, his robes brushing against the floor, dust wafting up slightly. He motioned toward the other men that fanned out behind him, and she frowned, too. What was going on?
"We need to talk," Gazon said, his voice grave. She knew that deep down, he was upset about the king's passing, even if he didn't show it outwardly. "The other men and I have been talking about your latest status . . ." He cleared his throat, making Nazadori stand up taller. ". . . as the next queen of Omashu."
Gazon paused, and Nazadori took that time to speak. "Yes?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. She knew that these older men weren't quite keen on Nazadori taking control of the city because she was a younger woman who had a troubled past, but that didn't mean that she couldn't take care of Omashu. "Is there something I can do?"
"Well," Gazon said slowly. His green eyes darkened as his cheeks reddened slightly like he was embarrassed about something. "We were talking and said that after King Bumi's funeral procession, we will help you find a team of new advisors for this new leadership."
Nazadori stood there for a second, staring between the wizened old men. She couldn't be angry with his proposition because she agreed that the city needed a new set of advisors to help her make the right decisions for the city, people who were younger and understood the world as it was today instead of in the past. "Okay," she said, nodding once. Her braid fell onto her shoulder, and she flicked it back, wishing she asked Mava to pin it back more before she left. Hopefully, she will make it in time to do it. "I agree."
Gazon smiled, and Nazadori noticed a hint of sadness in it. He said, "I will stay on as your head advisor to help you at the beginning of your reign, but once I see that you can take care of this great city, I will retire." He laughed, shaking his head. "It's been a while since I've had a vacation. I'm thinking about traveling through the Earth Kingdom. You know, for Bumi."
"That sounds like a great idea," she said, smiling widely at him. Her heart leaped in her chest at the thought that Gazon would be having a farewell vacation for their old beloved king. Plus, Gazon deserved some time off. He had been working with Bumi for as long as she could remember. "So, is it nearly time for the funeral procession to start?"
The other men dispersed, leaving Gazon and Nazadori alone together. Gazon pointed out the small window to her left, and she glanced out and saw bits of Omashu outside. "I've sent out a group of people to tell the city about the death of their beloved king," he said, his deep voice cutting through the chatter. She looked over at him to see him tugging on his gray beard as he stared out the window. Sun peeked through the window and splashed on his face. "It will happen soon enough. We don't want to rush it."
"I understand," she said, nodding. An ache was forming behind her eyes as she tried not to cry again. These past few days have been really rough for her as she tried to figure out how to go on with her life without Bumi here and how she was going to be queen. She turned toward Gazon and said, "Did you know Bumi was going to choose me to be queen?"
Gazon looked over at her, sighing. "We had many, many conversations about who would take control of this city when Bumi would die," he said slowly. "I suggested some of the advisors, he suggested Toph from Avatar Aang's group, but we couldn't decide on anyone for a while." He smiled at Nazadori, who nervously rocked back and forth on her sandaled feet. "And then he met you, and it was all over for the other candidates."
"Really?" she whispered, furrowing her eyebrows. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Bumi really knew that she was going to be queen when he first met her? "He really thought I was the best choice the first time he met me?" Gazon nodded, and she let out a breath. "Wow, I can't believe that. When he first met me, I was a rambunctious teenager who fought people in school all the time. I was literally fighting someone when he found me!"
"I know," Gazon said, chuckling. He shook his head with a smile on his face. "I questioned him so many times after that about why he chose you, but all he said was that you had the potential to be the best queen Omashu ever had."
Nazadori swallowed hard as emotion hit her like a wave of water. She blinked as tears pooled in her eyes, and she sniffled slightly. "I didn't know that," she said softly, trying to stop her voice from shaking. "I didn't know he thought that highly of me."
"He loved you like a daughter, Nazadori." He patted her shoulder. That didn't help her tears or the pain in her throat at all. "I'll let you know when we're going to start the funeral procession."
All she could do was smile at Gazon. Turning away from him, she hurried through the open doorway, holding back a sob. She didn't make it very far and stopped in the hallway, sliding down the wall. The earth beneath her was hard, but it reminded her of Bumi, who was the greatest earthbender she had ever known. Pressing her knuckles against her eyes, she stopped herself from crying, the ache behind her eyes increasing. She didn't want to cry then. She was tired of crying.
As the tears cleared, Nazadori took a deep breath. This was what she had to do right now. This was what Bumi had wanted for her. He chose her for a reason, and right now, she still didn't know why even though Gazon explained it to her, but she knew that he had faith in her. If he had faith in her, then what did she have to lose? A whole city if she messed up. But she couldn't think like that right now. All she could do was think about Bumi and his last wish for his beloved city to rest in her hands.
She slowly stood up and squared her shoulders as Gazon rounded the corner, giving her a knowing nod. Nazadori could do this. With each step she took toward the main gate, the lighter she felt until she felt like she was walking on air. The older man blew the horn as the gates swung open just as she made it there. The city of Omashu was sprawled out in front of the walls, and Nazadori saw crowds and crowds of the people -- her people -- spreading forward, sobs and chattering hitting her ears. The people Gazon sent out earlier to stand on street corners and tell people about the death of King Bumi did their job, and now it was time to rightfully mourn the great king.
She stepped forward, standing as tall as she could. Without hesitation, without pain, she walked forward into her new destiny.