Too Much, Too Soon
Chapter One; The Descent into Normalcy
A/N: Hey guys! So um, this is chapter one of what shall hopefully be a rather long fic. I like to think of it as a better written version of "Castle Down". Obviously, only the plot is mine blahblahblah.
It was dark when he came back from the meeting. Mai saw the shoulders of his shadow slouch and his arms sway. The sun had set several hours ago- it had to be well past midnight.
"Go to sleep." Mai whispered. The Fire Lord frowned and turned his eyes to a pile of scrolls haphazardly stacked on his desk.
"No." it was not a reply, it was an order. Mai lay back on the bed, eyes following her king as he sifted through declarations and who-knows-what.
"Can it wait for the morning? You're being ridiculous."
"No."
There was silence for several minutes, interupted only by the sound of quill on paper.
"I'm leaving in the morning."
"You should sleep. I'll join you when I get done with this."
"I want you to join me now. I'm going in the morning."
"No, Mai."
She fell asleep waiting for him but he barely noticed, absorbed in his work. When the sun rose, Mai opened her eyes to find him still sitting at the desk, slumped over a letter to the Earth King. She shut her eyes and pretended not to noticed when he finally lay next to her, well into the morning.
At midday the carriage arrived. Her parents had come to say goodbye and she spent much more time than needed embracing them and playing with Tom-Tom. He waited in the background, fighting to stay awake.
It was only when the departure could no longer be delayed that Mai turned to him. She looked him straight in the eye with that way she had, half a smile playing at the corners of her lips.
"Write to me. Don't forget."
He nodded and tried to take her hand. She quickly evaded his touch.
"Goodbye Zuko. I'll miss you." Just like that, she was gone.
The Fire Lord didn't have much time to contemplate. The Avatar was visiting again soon and there were preparations to oversee. There were war prisoners to judge, speeches to write, laws to sign, and finally, after a quick meal of bread and tea, he found himself facing a blank scroll.
Dear Mai, I don't know if you've arrived yet but I want this to be waiting for you when you do. I know this is a big change but you're the only person in the Fire Nation capable enough. I am so excited to see what
He looked up at the sound of footsteps. Two aides sauntered into the room, their long beards shaking. It was late, no was supposed to disturb the Fire Lord unless it was an emergency…
The taller aide spoke first. Though he seemed calm, his voiced betrayed his anger and fear.
"The Earth Kingdom has formally refused diplomatic relations with the Fire Nation. A dispatch was sent several days ago but only just arrived."
"If I may," interjected the shorter, "Now would be the time to secure our borders and-"
"No." It was becoming his favorite word.
"Fire Lord, this could easily escalate!" But the Fire Lord just put his head down on his desk. It was struggle to stay awake.
"Let me see the exact wording." The three men ran off. The letter lay unfinished.
Ty-Lee Liao had always been different. Then again, she had tried to be. But even when she was normal, at important parties when she had been threatened to "please, please shut up," there had been something seperating her from the rest of the world. Fitting in wasn't an option.
At first she figured it was a physical deformity. Her thick brown hair wasn't exactly the norm in the Fire Nation, nor were her round, light eyes. But her mother, who wanted to be liked so badly, dyed her hair black every week and even then, never seemed to be as well-liked as she should have been.
Her father and her sisters all looked alike. Pale skin, brown eyes, black hair, delicate features. None of the other children were cursed with Ty-Lee's ugliness. And yet, even with perfect manners and beauty, they still weren't well accepted. It was whispered that they had some other blood in them. Not Fire Nation enough. Different. Others remarked they felt uncomfortable with a Liao in the room. Howin and her odd daughter especially.
They always pretended they couldn't hear the snide comments and barely-hidden giggles. Her father got on well enough and was respected enough to save the family from anything too cruel. It was still hard.
Ty-Lee had it the worst.
Azula had liked different, so Ty-Lee clung to her. She clung to the one person who didn't think she was weird or ugly or barbaric. The very traits Ty-Lee hated in herself, Azula found use for. Mai was nice as well.
Time went on and Ty-Lee learned what her mother and sisters never did: confidence. She felt she belonged in the Fire Nation: she had befriended the princess, hadn't she? And so, others began to believe it. Ty-Lee thought her features were exotic and lovely and so did everyone else. Now, instead of being strange, she was unique. It was a good change.
Her sisters were jealous. Her mother was jealous. Her father wanted to use her friendship with Azula to his political advantage. School ended and the dream ended. Ty-Lee was home again with her squabbling siblings and exasperated parents. She didn't like to hurt them, so she tried to stop being different.
When that didn't work, she left. One thing Ty-Lee learnt, was never to trust happiness to stay. It was always fleeting. The circus was fun but it too had to end. But at least she was with Azula! But Azula was different, angrier, and everything seemed wrong and upside-down. It was split second decision to help Mai, but prison was long.
It gave her a chance to think. Alone in a dingy cell, Ty-Lee was not different. She was just like every other prisoner. It was horrible.
The Kyoshi warriors didn't know Ty-Lee was odd. They didn't even know she was Fire Nation at first. They had no way of knowing she was strange and so they couldn't either reject nor accept her on that basis. They simply liked her because she flirted with the guards holding them captive and invented a game to play with the bars of their cells.
When she told them her past, they paled. "You don't look Fire Nation!" the smallest, Shun, exclaimed.
Ty-Lee just laughed. "I get that a lot."
The war ended, which was good, and Kyoshi was a nice place to live. It was quiet, though it could certainly use more decorations. Truly, she was happy.
Of course, it couldn't last. The old woman in the marketplace hadn't meant to be unkind, she was nearly a century old and probably senile. But her innocent comment had struck Ty-Lee and brought back a childhood full of lonliness.
It couldn't be true.
"I don't want to stay put! I want to help!" Katara's voice rang out in the early morning, awakening several mouse-birds in the process. Her brother sighed.
"We're not diplomats. Admit it, Katara, our work is done." If Sokka was upset by this realization, he didn't show it, though his sister seemed close to tears.
"After everything we did, I will not settle down quietly!" she cried as she slammed her fist against the walls of their igloo.
"We're just kids. There's not much left for us to do now." Sokka muttered, pretending not to hear Katara's gentle sobs.
Toph hated boredom but she liked tea. It was a toss up. Tea and Iroh won. Besides, there were always some vandals and deliquents to beat up. She was on constant guard to crush anyone who looked dangerous. A real threat came a few times a week. Though she knew they hurt Iroh, Toph couldn't help but savor them.
In between guarding the tea shop, she listened for a sign.