"Tensions remain high in the Earth Kingdom capital as discussions for a potential change in taxation laws continue. The Earth King is said to be unmoved in his stance to push for the laws' alteration, but is facing stiff opposition from key members of the State Council.
Commerce Minister Yang Wei has argued recently that the proposed changes will only yield an immediate, short term benefit, and that different approaches to the nation's economic difficulties should be given serious consideration. Mei Chengping, the Minister of Labour, spoke earlier this week about the dangers of overtaxing and the likelihood that the new parameters of the law, if successful pushed through, would lead to widespread dissent among the working classes.
The Earth Kingdom, which plays a large role within the United Republic, is being closely monitored by the United Council as events unfold. Several ambassadors are currently residing within Ba Sing Se and engaging in talks with the Earth King and State Council. It is being questioned, however, whether Avatar Korra will soon be travelling to the capital herself to once again provide a neutral voice in these matters –"
There is a click as the radio is switched off. I turn my eyes and see my husband standing behind the couch. His hand is the culprit, and silence envelopes the room as he moves away from the small table upon which the boxy device sits.
"You shouldn't be listening to that," he chides me gently. "The last thing you need is to stress yourself."
I nod, wearily. I know. "I know. But I have to."
He steps around to the front of the couch and frowns at me. "They have to learn to deal with their own problems. You can't be at the world's beck and call anymore."
I know, because we are a family now.
In my arms I cradle my daughter, soft and small. She is four months old, and even now I sometimes still think this is all a dream. That those nine months of heaviness and anxiousness are a product of my overactive imagination, and those long, painful hours of labour and the curses I screamed as I pushed and pushed are a cruel nightmare. But they aren't. It was real, and I cherish all of it for in my arms I hold the most beautiful creature in the world.
The couch sinks as Mako sits beside me. He takes a moment to rearrange the cushions at my back, ensuring as he always does that I am comfortable. He is so patient with me. I honestly don't know how he has kept his sanity. But for all that he is and all that he has done, I love him. His arm curves around my shoulders at the back of the couch and a smile comes easily to his lips as he looks down at our daughter. It's infectious, and I can't help but smile too.
We're silent as we watch her nurse at my breast. It's an enthralling sight, one I've yet to tire of. I have never known peace such as this, never felt as connected to another human being as I do now. That Mako is beside me, sharing his warmth and the comfortable weight of his body makes this moment all the more beautiful.
"What does it feel like?" he asked me once.
I didn't know how to reply. Even as I began to try and describe it, I could find no one word that truly answered him.
"Like nothing else," I said. "I feel so close to her. It's joy, peace, comfort, love, happiness. It's wonderful, Mako."
I laughed afterwards when he told me I had made the best sales pitch he'd ever heard, and that he wanted to try it.
He gently strokes our daughter's hair before rising to his feet. I can sense his reluctance, but there is nothing he can do about it. I often tease him, telling him it's his own fault for being so proficient at his job. He's the head of his own department now, answering directly to Lin Beifong. I briefly consider the woman; she's pushing 60. It's been ten years since she retook her position as Chief of Police, but she still has the strength of a woman half her age.
"I've got to go," Mako tells me. I tilt my face and meet his lips. "I don't want to come back and see you listening to that," he says, pointing to the radio.
I chuckle. "Yes, dear husband."
He keeps up the stern charade only for a moment longer, and then it dissolves into a warm smile. After lightly kissing the brow of his daughter, whose eyes momentarily flit open upon the contact, he straightens. Longingly, he looks at us both.
"Off with you," I tell him. "You don't want to be late."
"Would it be a crime, to want to spend more time with my wife and child?"
"Lin will make it so just for you," I answer.
He smiles, but I can see the tiredness that draws his face. Neither of us can remember a full night of sleep.
"Go on," I say. "We aren't going anywhere."
With a sigh, he nods. "I'll call at lunch," he says, moving towards the door. "And don't make me have to confiscate this thing," he adds, tapping the radio on his way out. I only smile as I watch him leave. Soon I hear the sound of the front door closing.
I look down when I feel my daughter unlatching. "All done?" I whisper, and she opens her eyes and blinks gold up at me. I tuck my breast away and gently wipe the corners of her mouth with a small towel. Afterwards, I nestle her into my arms and softly sing. She doesn't fall asleep right away, her gaze intent as she studies my face and the movement of my lips. When I lean down to kiss her nose, her hands rise to my cheeks, fingers soft and small exploring my skin. I giggle, like the girl I once was when I first fell in love. But that's okay, because I'm in love all over again.
When her eyes fall shut, only then do I reach behind me and turn the radio back on. I keep the volume low, so as not to wake her. As I listen, my smile diminishes. I feel my happiness and contentment overcome by indecision and worry. I worry that if I don't step in, the Earth King will plunge his nation into a situation we barely avoided three years ago. But I can't just pick myself up and travel to Ba Sing Se. I'm a mother now, and my little girl needs me. I sigh and close my eyes as another thought comes to me a moment later.
I am the Avatar, and the world needs me too.
