The Dragon Throne

Mai walked into the shadowy throne room. "Why are you hiding in the dark?" she asked.

"I'm not hiding," Zuko replied from the dais, "I'm… thinking."

"I see. And you thought you'd give the eternal flame a rest?"

"It reminds me too much of my father, of what the Fire Nation should no longer be."

"That may be." She sat beside him. "But if you want the Fire Nation to be gentler to the outside, you'll have to be that much stronger within it. Symbols matter. That flame won't hurt anyone, but a succession crisis will. The people must know a Fire Lord sits on the Dragon Throne."

Zuko mulled this over. "I guess you're right, as usual". Mai smiled. With discreet bending, the familiar firewall lit up the colonnade. They studied the flames. "I'm used to having a straightforward goal: help the Avatar defeat father, defeat Azula. Now, I know where I want to take the Fire Nation, but not how to get there."

"You've been away from the court too long. Probably did you some good." It was Zuko's turn to smile. "But you also missed years of training. Azula was the one being groomed for the throne – you'll need to catch up quickly."

"And you'll impart the wisdom you gained in the bustling metropolis of Omashu?" he teased.

She didn't bite. "I will, and you'll appreciate it. Your father's closest nobles were also humiliated at the Comet debacle. That and fear of the Avatar will make it hard for them to build support for a comeback."

"We could take them on if they tried. Father can't bend."

Mai scowled. "I seem to manage. Bending won't help you in your sleep, or against poison. Anyway, you can't just arrest or banish the entire nobility – you need them to govern."

"Sorry. This is all so frustrating."

"Don't worry, it gets worse. Azula's meltdown should have showed everyone she's not a viable heir. But there will be other pretenders among your dearest cousins, and older nobles hoping to influence a young and inexperienced Fire Lord. You can't fight an agni kai every week."

"Is there anyone I can trust?"

"There's me. I betrayed Lord and Nation for you, you know."

"I know. That was very brave of you."

"Don't you forget it. I trust Li and Lo, too."

"Azula's nannies?"

"I think their loyalty to the palace goes beyond that to their ward, and you need experienced staff. As to the nobles, you could probably banish the most dangerous as an example, but also to show it won't turn into a witch hunt. You should bring back some of those banished by your father, and increase the status of friendlier Houses."

"Such as your own?"

"If you wish." She blushed. "It would not do for a Fire Lord to marry a lowly governor's daughter."

"It would not do at all," he agreed.

There was an embarrassed silence.

"I've been thinking a lot about father and Azula," said Zuko.

"I know."

"I'm glad the succession didn't follow the family tradition of regicide, but life imprisonment seems cruel – especially for Azula. Sometimes I think banishment might allow them to live their lives…"

"If only you weren't certain they'd be plotting to overthrow you?"

"Exactly."

"Perhaps in time you can move them to house arrest. I guess they're still family, after all."

"Not that that ever meant much to them. And Azula still has her bending."

"Have you considered asking the Avatar to… you know."

"No! Yes. I've thought about it. But I'm not sure I could bring myself to ask Aang, or that he'd agree to do it. It's pretty horrible business."

"I understand." She noticed the look on Zuko's face. "Hey, cheer up. Tell me about the Fire Nation's brave new future, since that's the part you know."

"You're telling me to cheer up? I must be worse than I thought."

"It took some effort, so don't make me do it again." She was rewarded with a smile.

"We have to withdraw from the Earth Kingdom, of course – all of it."

"That's bound to step on a lot of toes. Even well managed, it could still cost you the throne."

"I know. We'll secure the routes for the troops retreating from Ba Sing Se, and focus the Fire Navy on ferrying everyone out."

"The nobles won't give up their new estates easily. If the army isn't there when the Earth soldiers arrive, it will be bloodshed in the colonies and revolt at home."

"Yet every moment we delay will make it harder to root them out, and harder to build trust with the Earth Kingdom. I need to apply just enough pressure for the nobles to realize their position is untenable, without it spiraling into disaster."

"The Avatar?"

"Him too, though I can't keep relying on Aang to clean up after the Fire Nation. I sent a message to uncle asking him to be our Ambassador – he's about the only one of us they would trust right now."

"Good thinking. I knew you weren't just the looks."

"Very funny. If we coordinate the advance of the Earth troops, they can secure the villages as we leave them, while giving us enough time for an orderly retreat."

"They're not any more interested in having the war faction reclaim power than we are. But any delays will seem like attempts to keep a permanent position, and then they'll be the ones under pressure from the streets."

"Yes. To generate good will, ending this war is not enough. We need to end our capacity for war – or at least make it more difficult. The Navy and Army need to be scaled down to deal with pirates, bandits, civil unrest, that sort of thing."

"I'm sure the Treasury will appreciate that. But may I ask what you plan to do with all those idle soldiers? They tend to be the ones recruited by pirates and bandits, or causing civil unrest."

"I suppose we have to try to ease them back into civilian life somehow. But the war machine also has to go – mines, smelters, workshops – they need to be converted to civilian use or scrapped."

"So you're going against the nobles, the army, the industrialists and the workers?"

"I guess so, pretty much. Still wanna stick around?"

"More than ever. I need to keep you from getting yourself killed."

"Thanks. I really mean it. And it might not be so impossible. You saw what life was like in Ba Sing Se – that's what I want for my people. We've levied tax after tax to pay for this war, and put people and equipment into making destruction. I think it's time we put them back into making better lives for themselves. We might even restart trade with the other peoples – when they're ready to accept."

"Then you can add pirates to the list, now that they'll have to compete with legitimate traders."

"There's one other thing."

"You do realize one revolution too many is what stands between Zuko the Reformer and Zuko the Brief?"

"It's important, I promise. We need to change the history we teach. And I don't mean demonize my predecessors and glorify Aang - thought that's pretty much the case as far as I'm concerned. That would be repeating the same mistake. We need an honest accounting – as honest as we can make it – in order to move on."

"That could be the hardest thing you ask of the Fire Nation."

"I know."

They looked at each other for a long time. With discreet bending, Zuko dimmed the firewall.