The Fire Kingdom's Palace was very quiet as I struggled to pull on the Firelord robe around my wounds, wincing as I stretched my arm too quickly, causing pain to shoot down my ribs. This difficulty did not help my nerves about the coronation that is to happen shortly. My thoughts danced on the number of the crowd and on the Avatar. It had been so long since I had been in front of my nation, besides my return when my Father presented me to the courtyard. I wondered if Aang was nervous and what he was thinking. I just wanted this to be over as quickly as possible, but still retain its special significance.
"Need some help with that?" I heard a female voice call to me. I looked at the entrance to the large room to see my ex-girlfriend, Mai, leaning against the doorframe.
"Mai!" I replied, excited to see her again, and in good health. "You're ok! They let you out of prison?"
"My uncle pulled some strings. And it doesn't hurt when you're in good with the Firelord." She replied with a nonchalant voice.
"So does this mean you don't hate me anymore?" I asked sincerely. I truly hoped she didn't hold any hard feelings against me.
"Actually, I think it means I actually kind of like you." Mai answered, her cheeks turning pink. She leaned in to kiss me, wanting to reunite our love, but I turned away. "W-what's wrong, Zuko? Isn't this ok?"
I sighed and a small frown turned down my lips. "I'm sorry Mai, I can't do this. I've realized…"
"Realized what?" Mai interrupted, a mixture of confusion and anger tainting her face and voice. I'm sure she was wondering what could have changed in me to make me not want her. We've been together for such a long time and I knew she would be hoping that we would be together again after everything calmed down.
"I realized… that I don't really feel about you the same way I did when we first dated." I managed to get out awkwardly, "Things have changed, my feelings have changed… Mai-"
"Don't say it." Mai cut me off, "Just don't say it. I don't know who it is, Zuko, and I don't care, but just don't say the words." She took a step away from him, avoiding his face with her eyes, "I just don't think I can handle that again."
"I'm sorry…" was all I could come up with to say before she swiftly walked back out of the room, leaving me to be alone again with only my thoughts and now my jumbled emotions. I hadn't even said I liked another person, But how could I possibly explain what I felt for-
"Zuko!" Aang ran into the room with a bright smile on his face. He gave me a quick and gentle hug around the waist and looked at me. "Why aren't you dressed? You need to be on the balcony in a few minutes!"
"I.. I'm having some trouble putting on the rest of my clothes. My wounds are causing me some grief with this." I replied, somewhat embarrassed I couldn't preform such a simple task by myself without taking significant time.
"It's ok, Zuko. I'll help you!" The boy said as he grabbed onto the scarlet robe, helping my arms through the sleeves. "I saw Mai come over here, so I thought she was helping you get ready. Did she come in here? When did she get out of prison?"
"Yeah, she did. We talked for a little bit… I'm not sure when she got out of prison, though. She said her uncle pulled some strings." Aang's arms came around his waist to tighten and tie the silk belt to hold my robe closed.
"Why do you seem down about you two talking? Is she still mad at you for dumping her?" Aang asked. I felt like he was asking too many questions, though I knew he had only asked a couple.
"Something like that… It's ok. Thanks for helping me, Aang." We smiled at each other for a moment. I admired how easily Aang's emotions showed so honestly on his face, and I knew he wasn't smiling just to comfort me. Such a sweet smile-
"Come on! We've got to go!" he exclaimed, fitting the rest of my outfit onto me, then grabbing my hand and hurrying me out of the room into the hall before the curtains that lead into the balcony which looks over the palace courtyard.
I wanted to stop for a moment and talk to Aang before we went out in front of everyone. "I can't believe a year ago, my purpose in life was hunting you down. And now…"
"And now we're friends…" Aang finished for me.
"Yeah, we are friends." That brought a smile to my face.
"I can't believe a year ago, I was still frozen in a block of ice. The world is so different now!"
"And it's going to be even more different… when we build it together."
I smiled down at Aang, then opened up the curtains, taking in a deep breath before I walked through. I heard the Avatar's footsteps right behind me. As I walked down onto the balcony, everyone started cheering, but I realized Aang hadn't come all the way down with me and was still out of sight.
"Please!" I shouted over the crowd, "The real hero... is the Avatar." I stepped aside and gestured to my friend, who then walked down the steps and joined me, standing to my side, overlooking the courtyard full of people from all nations who cheered even more loudly. I had only ever seen it filled with a red sea of people from the Fire Nation with events such as this. Never before have I seen so much color present here…
"Today…" I spoke over the cheering, "This war is finally over! I promised my uncle I would restore the honor of the Fire Nation... and I will. The road ahead of us is challenging. One hundred years of fighting has left the world scarred and divided. But with the Avatar's help, we can get it back on the right path and begin a new era of love and peace."
With those words of promise, I knelt down as a Prince before my people as a sage walked behind me, bearing the crown. "All hail Firelord Zuko!" He proclaimed before plunging the crown into my topknot. The crowd erupted into shouts and whistles of congratulations, and I stood up with pride as the new Firelord of the Fire Nation. I had never felt so much pride in my chest as I did in this very moment.
I took a deep bow with Aang before retreating back through the curtain into the palace. I looked over to him and saw his face was filled with emotion, but the corners of his lips turned up in a smile. "What are you thinking about, Aang?"
He looked up at me like I had caught him off guard or snapped him out of a daydream. "I don't know," he answered, "Everything I guess. I completed my job as the Avatar and now you're the Firelord, so it's like the story is over- like it ended with the crescendo of this moment right now."
"Oh, the story is far from over, Avatar." I reminded him, "And your job isn't finished. The job of the Avatar is to uphold balance. All you did was take my father's bending away."
"Didn't that restore the balance?" Aang asked, his face full of innocent confusion.
"Not yet, but it was a big step into doing so." I put my hand on his back as we walked down the hall towards the chambers. "The nations are broken and elements out of whack. The Fire Nation has to center itself, the Earth Nation has to rebuild its cities, the Water Nation is off balance with the Northern Tribe such bigger than the Southern, not to mention you are the sole Airbender in the world—the last of the Air Nation."
"Oh yeah…" Was all he said as he looked down to his feet.
With a muffled grunt, I added "But I guess you and Katara are going to fix that last problem, huh?"
"I wouldn't count of that…" Aang replied. For some reason, he seemed really sad about that. Something must have happened between them. Last time I checked, they were googly-eyeing each other.
"Why is that?" I asked.
"Because."
"Come on, Aang. You know you can tell me anything." I patted his shoulder and gave him a squeeze to reassure him it was alright to talk.
"I don't really feel what I thought I felt, if that makes sense." I responded to this with silence, thinking about it and really understanding what he meant. "It's just... I thought I liked Katara, but when she said she didn't like me more than a brother, I started meditating on my own feelings and I realized that I just thought she was pretty and I was just too excited. I mistook that for romantic feelings. After that, I started having less and less feelings for her until I realized she's more like my sister."
This shocked me and I felt my eye brows raise high at that, but I understood. "I know what you mean."
He looked up at me in surprise. "You do?"
"Yeah," I said, "that sort of happened to me, too. Well, more so that last bit. I fell out of love with Mai like that."
"Wow. Is that what happened in your room earlier?"
"Yeah, I don't know why I didn't tell you earlier. She wasn't too happy about it."
"I could imagine. Are you two going to be fine, though?"
"I don't know… so what are you going to do about Katara?"
"I guess, if she ever says anything or asks about it, I'll just tell her I was confused about my feelings for her. I hope nothing has changed since she told me she only likes me as a friend."
"Me too, buddy." We finally made it to the Royal Chamber with the hall leading to the chambers of honor in front of it. I pulled Aang into a tight hug before opening the tall door to my room and going in.
"Wait, Zuko?" Aang said just before I closed the door.
"Yeah, Aang? What is it?" I opened it back up to see him.
"Do you need help with your robe again? You could hardly put it on, so..." Aang was looking a little awkward and blushing a bit, but was honestly offering his help. I thought it was really sweet he thought to help me with what I struggled with before.
"Actually, that would be nice."
I opened the door wider and allowed him to step into the spacious room. I had been in here plenty of times as a child when it was my father's, but now that it's mine, the size of the room was awesome to admire, knowing that it's mine. I wonder what Aang thinks of it.
"I just need help getting this cape thing off my shoulders and getting out of the robe under it. I can probably put on an easier shirt by myself." Aang shut the door and walked over to me, looking a bit less awkward. I turned my back to him so he could take off the red cape from my shoulders. His hands came around my waist again to untie my belt, which opened my robe. I let him slide it off my arms, leaving my torso bare. I was about to turn around when I felt Aang's smaller hands feeling the bandage on my back, coming around to my flanks.
"Does that hurt?" He asked as he hesitantly trailed his fingers across the bandage.
He was touching me so lightly it almost tickled under the wrapping. "No," I answered and turned around to face him. I took his hand and placed it on my stomach and pressed it in a little, which caused me to wince. "Now that hurts," turning a corner of my mouth up in a half smile. "The wound is more on my stomach and side."
I let go of his hand and Aang pressed his lips together, thinking about that for a moment. "Does it feel any better at all?" He asked, looking into my eyes.
"A little bit," I replied, "But I'm still really sore. I've been thinking about asking Katara if she will help me with her healing water abilities." I said, but then wondered how Aang would feel about that after what he just spilled about Katara.
He didn't seem to mind. He just put his hand back on my stomach, and I covered it with my own. He looked back up at me for a moment, and I felt something exchange between us, but not on a level I could consciously understand, and it looked like Aang felt that too. He gave me a hug and a "see you later" after leaving my room and shutting the door.
I went over to the large dresser that held my clothes and took out a simple red shirt and slid it on with minimal difficulty. I sat down on my bed to just relax and think about things for a while before dinner, which I invited and gaang to earlier. I let my coronation, the war, my father, and my responsibilities set in. There is so much to process and take care of. I hope Aang is ok with all of this. I know he has a lot of emotions over this whole thing… He knows I'm there for him, and I hope I get the chance to comfort him, and he'll let me protect him. Aang…
©Alaan Davis