NOTE: This is the sequel to my story, Unmasking Truth. Please go read that one first :) Updates will be about twice a week. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender and all characters and other Avatar world details are © Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko, Viacom. No money is made by writing and publishing this fanfiction.
The Fire Lord swept through the dim hallways, brooding on his way to his chambers. It was well past midnight, and he knew his fiancé would have long since gone to bed.
Cursed ship, Zuko thought to himself, clenching and unclenching his fists in irritation. They'd had engine trouble on the way back that put him several hours behind schedule. As if being away from Suki for a week wasn't enough.
And with the way she'd been lately…it made him nervous to leave her for so long.
He stopped abruptly, chewing on his lip. Maybe she's still up. She knew I was coming back tonight. He hoped she hadn't waited up for him, but…it couldn't hurt to check. Before he could change his mind, Zuko spun on his heel and moved towards the southern wing, a hopeful bounce in his step.
He was nearing the inner courtyards when a small shriek rung out in the still nighttime air. Heart in his throat, Zuko tore around the corner.
"Hey! Who's there?" he called out, scanning the open garden, blue moonlight spilling over the stone walkways and drooping trees. It was dead silent.
"Suki! Is that you?!" he hollered, panicking. "Where are—" Zuko stopped as he heard a heavy thump against the soft ground several paces away. He sprinted towards the noise, tearing aside the long, leafy branches of a willow and lighting a fire in his palm. Within the tree's canopy, he caught sight of a woman in pink, her usually neat braid a tangled mess against her shoulder.
"Ty Lee?" he asked, moving towards her quickly. Her hands covered her face, chest heaving in silent sobs.
"Are you all right? What's—" Zuko stopped again as he heard someone grunt beneath his feet. Looking down, he realized he was stepping on one of the palace guardsmen. The man lay face-down on the ground, limbs sprawled awkwardly around him.
Zuko's expression darkened as looked back at his friend. "Ty Lee, did he…"
She looked up at him, eyes round and wet. She shook her head.
"But he tried to."
Her lip began to quiver and she let her face fall back into her hands.
Zuko reached down and grabbed the man's collar with both hands, hauling him up to eye level. The guard's arms hung limply at his sides, the effects of Ty Lee's chi-block keeping him paralyzed.
"There is no tolerance for dishonor among my forces," Zuko said harshly, his voice low and rough. "You are permanently relieved of your duties—and you better hope I never see you again."
The man's eyes darkened briefly, but soon widened, quivering in terror. Good, Zuko thought. You should be afraid.
Dropping the man, he turned to Ty Lee and offered her his arm. "Come on," he said gently. "I'll escort you back." She grabbed his arm with one hand, rubbing her eyes roughly with the other.
Fury burned in Zuko's gut as they made their way down the quiet hallways. Ty Lee continued to sniffle as he considered going back and strangling that son of a—
"He seemed like such a nice guy!" she cried out suddenly. She hiccupped a couple times before sighing deeply. "I'm starting to worry I'll never find the right one, Zuko."
He smiled, relieved she was already feeling well enough to talk about it. "Ty Lee, you're only eighteen. There's no rush."
"Well, you're only twenty and you're getting married."
Zuko's grin widened. "…Almost twenty-one."
They reached her and Suki's room. "Thanks, Zuko," Ty Lee said, some of the usual brightness coming back to her voice. "You know, you're like the big brother I never had."
"Well, I would have definitely taken you over Azula." It was true, but…he immediately felt guilty saying it. Especially since his sister had been missing for over two years now. Zuko tried not to think about that too often, since it made him feel all kinds of regret, and a strange sadness he didn't understand. Shaking his head, he looked back down at Ty Lee. "Hey, um, do you think Suki is—"
He stopped as a small cry rang out from behind the door. "Su-Suki?!" he cried, reaching for the handle. The cries continued, growing louder and more terrified. "I—I'm coming in!" he shouted, pushing open the door and hurling himself into the bedroom.
The lamp beside Suki's bed gave off a dim glow. She lay on top of the bedspread, tremors wracking her body as she whimpered quietly.
"Suki," he said, face contorting as he ran over and sat on the bed, gently shaking her awake. She opened her eyes slowly, cries slowly fading to ragged gasps.
"Zu…Zuko?" she breathed. Her eyes softened. "You're back."
Still trembling, she pushed herself into a sitting position, Zuko steadying her. A couple open scrolls fell off her lap and onto the floor.
"I missed you," she said quietly.
"I missed you too," he said, pulling her in close and kissing her gently. She felt even thinner than she had last week.
"I'm sorry," she continued. "I tried to wait up…guess the history of the Pho Zei Dynasty just wasn't doing it for me," she said, giving him a small smile.
Zuko frowned. "You've been having nightmares again," he said, his heart sinking in his chest. "Suki...I thought they'd stopped."
She bit her lip and looked into her lap.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked in anxiety. He turned around as Ty Lee's soft footsteps betrayed her entry. "Why didn't you tell me?!" he said angrily. Ty Lee stared at the floor, looking guilty.
"Zuko, I asked her not to," Suki said. He turned back to face her. "You've had so much going on lately. And anyway, they've only just come back, ever since…" she trailed off, hand reaching for her lower abdomen, fingers curling sharply.
Zuko felt his chest tighten. "Are you feeling worse? Did Osamu figure out anything since I left?"
She shook her head.
"Agni! That man's useless!"
"Zuko…"
He bowed his head. "I knew I shouldn't have gone. They would've been fine without me. Half those meetings could have been done by messenger hawk anyway…" he said bitterly.
"Zuko, they couldn't exactly have a conference of world leaders without you."
Zuko furrowed his brow. He knew she was right, and he knew how important it was to support the other Fire Nation colonies as they transitioned to governments like Yu Dao's.
Didn't make him feel any better, though.
"Besides…" she continued, smiling again. "It gave me a chance to get in a couple more dress fittings without you snooping around."
He felt his cheeks growing warm. "I never…snoop."
He heard Ty Lee giggle behind them. Zuko turned around and saw her perched on the footboard of her bed, balanced on two fingers.
"You two are sooo cute!" she crooned, a dreamy look on her face.
Zuko groaned, but stopped when Suki rested her head tiredly against his chest.
"You should try to get some more sleep," he said quietly.
She gripped his shirt weakly, but nodded. He knew she was afraid of seeing Koh again in her dreams. Even killing that monster didn't really get rid of him.
Zuko ran his fingers through her hair. "…I can stay."
She nodded again, letting him pull aside the covers so she could crawl inside. He tucked her in, then pulled off his boots and swords before laying on top of the quilt and wrapping his arms around her shoulders.
"Love you," he said quietly, pressing his lips to her forehead.
"Love you too," she breathed. Her warm breath brushed against his neck, quickly slowing into the gentle rhythm of sleep.
He ran his thumb along her jaw, frowning at her hollow cheeks and paling skin. It wasn't just Osamu who didn't know what was wrong—after the scare with his mother last year, he'd hired a bender from the Northern Water Tribe to join the healing staff. The woman had been able to treat Suki's symptoms, but despite the daily healing sessions, she continued to grow sicker.
It had been several weeks now, and Zuko was no longer concerned. He was afraid.
"Squaaaawk!"
Toph's heart sped up a little. "All right you little wimps," she ordered. "Go run around Yu Dao and meet back here for your next session!"
The room filled with groans.
"I SAID RUN!" she hollered, pulling a mass of stone from the floor and letting it hang menacingly in the air.
She felt the scampering of forty pairs of feet. The room soon fell silent.
"Awww, that's better," she said, dropping the stone and holding out her arm for the messenger hawk to land on. She reached over and felt for the pouch on its back, undoing the clasp and pulling out two thin sheets of metal.
"Thanks, Hawky."
"Squawk!"
Toph let the bird hop over to the windowsill before sprinting towards her room upstairs. She pulled open a drawer in the dresser and dug out another couple metal sheets before plopping herself down on the bed.
She picked up the first sheet from Hawky and held it carefully in her hands. The childlike scratches in the metal were easy to sense just by touching the sheet, but she ran her fingers over them anyway as she made out the markings.
Toph! This is so awesome, right? I'm such a genius. Can't believe we never thought of this before.
She grinned. She had to give it to that blockhead—it was pretty genius. With Penga's help, she'd been memorizing the funny characters Sokka had sent her ever since his last letter. She held them in her other hand as she deciphered the new message. It was still really slow going, but the thrill of being able to read made it worth it.
Before I say anything else—I drew you a picture that you can see! Feel. Whatever.
Toph pulled out the second sheet and felt the strange swirls and scratches in the metal. What in the world? she thought as she went back to the letter.
IT'S APPA THE SNOWMAN. But I'm sure that was obvious.
"Oh my gosh—this is so bad!" Toph laughed.
Things are still good here. Katara and Aang have been helping Grandpakku and the other benders finish the city infrastructure, and I've been pretty busy planning out the water system. Teo's dad sent me a few ideas that I've had to adapt to the South. You'd think living on a hunk of ice would make this easy but getting that frozen stuff into something usable is harder than it sounds. Nothing the Idea Guy can't handle, though!
Anyway, we'll be there in two weeks to pick you up for the jerkbender's wedding. I don't think I'm ready for all the oogie-nasty we're going have to witness. *gagging*
See you soon. Love, Sokka.
Toph let her fingers rest on the last couple words for a few moments. Then she heard the pounding of footfalls down on the front steps, and quickly slid the sheets together and slipped them back into the dresser.
Running back down the stairs, she yelled some profanities at her lazy students. But she couldn't wipe the small smile off her face as she did so.
"Fire Lord, I only have your best interest at heart."
Zuko sat on his throne, thick streams of smoke pouring out of his nostrils. "Somehow, I highly doubt you have my interest at heart at all, Rishi," he said, purposely leaving the man's title off.
The High Sage didn't waver. He even had the nerve to rise to his feet. The flame barrier—the one Zuko only put up for people he didn't want to talk to—swelled in rhythm with his angry breaths.
"Lord Zuko, it has long been the duty of the High Sage to advise the royal family in their choices of marriage—"
"And you're probably the one who told my father he could kidnap my mother and make her marry him."
"Your mother came of her own will."
Zuko huffed in disbelief. The man ignored him and continued. "I've always done my best to ensure the continuation of a strong and pure line of Fire Lords…"
Zuko fumed as the old man continued his racist monologue. He'd never liked Rishi—even as a child. But he'd made so many changes in authority upon becoming Fire Lord that he'd thought it necessary to keep at least one of the older leaders in power, if only for stability.
He was starting to regret his decision.
"…and thus, it is your duty to choose a companion of noble, national blood who will guarantee that your successor will be a powerful firebender."
Zuko continued to glare at the man once he stopped speaking. "…Are you done?"
Rishi's massive white brows furrowed slightly, but he nodded.
"Then you're dismissed." The man's expression fell into a full-fledged scowl before bowing quickly and walking back down the long rug towards the exit.
The moment the door shut, Zuko swore loudly. This wasn't the first time Rishi had harassed him over the matter, nor was he the only advisor to bring it up. Maybe if these people knew Suki was really half Fire Nation, they'd calm down a bit. But, as much as he hated to admit it, her mixed blood and lack of any traceable lineage might actually make things worse.
Besides, he knew she still felt nervous about letting anyone else know.
Zuko sighed roughly. With the evolution of Yu Dao and the other Fire Nation colonies, it seemed the world was fast on its way to changing for the better. Yet he couldn't help but wish it would change a little faster.
Cursing Rishi once more for good measure, Zuko stood and put out the firewall. I can't worry about this right now, he told himself. He didn't think he had enough room inside for any more anxiety than what he was feeling due to Suki's illness. The thought tugged at his gut, and he headed out the back entrance in search for her.
Suki sat on the edge of the cot, waiting patiently while Nukka tended another patient. After several minutes she felt a soft hand on her shoulder, and looked over to see the older Water Tribe woman smiling down at her.
"Are you ready, my dear?" Nukka asked.
"Yes, thank you," Suki said kindly, lying down on the cot and pulling her shirt off her stomach as the woman shut the curtains around the bed. She watched Nukka coat her hands in glowing water, the process having long felt like a familiar routine. The healer's warm gaze suddenly turned serious, eyes glazing over as she focused on her work.
A half hour later, Sukki felt much better, though as always, a lingering pain remained deep in her gut. She bowed and thanked Nukka quickly before leaving the ward, hurrying towards the training grounds. I can do this today, she told herself, feeling empowered from the healing session and anxious to make the most of her newfound energy.
Ten minutes later, Suki was panting hard, sweat dripping from her face. Ignoring the aching, she followed through with the practice jab.
Again, she ordered herself. Her weakened muscles screamed at her. You've barely been at it. Again!
She ducked and rolled across the arena before slicing her fan through the air. As she pulled herself to her full height to finish the routine, a horrible pain tore across her abdomen. A ragged gasp escaped her lips as her knees gave out and she fell in an awkward heap.
She laid there for a minute, curled in on herself, cursing quietly and trying not to cry.
What is happening to me? she thought desperately, just as the world around her turned black.