A/N: I was suddenly struck with inspiration. This is my first venture into this fandom, which typically has very happy go lucky fics, if I do say so myself. I'm a dark writer and currently, was struck with an absolutely reasonable muse.
Summary: One-shot / She never really had a purpose, she was simply...there.
Pairings: Hinted Zuko x Jin
Rating: Eh. K+? K? T? No idea. Nothing too bad, just a bit on the sad side.
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender, the Legend of Korra, or any other related trademarks. This is a work of fanfiction and despite it's realistic plot, would never happen because Nickelodeon would throw a hissy fit.
They loved her.
Her eyes were bright as she rode throughout the Palace City. The royal silk of her robes fluttered in the wind. She was incredibly headstrong and often times, the more sociable member of the beloved royalty in the Fire Nation. She was in charge of balls, festivals, parades and was easily the most recognizable face.
Women spread the girl's stories to the children late at night, telling them of the girl's triumph. The men looked upon the Fire Lord with slight envy and sometimes, disgust. She was too different, they said, too strong. The Fire Lord attempted to appease them and slowly, the bright and charming member of the Royal Household faded into the background.
At first, she was not allowed to go on the Grand Progress, which was, in essence a grand tour of the chain of islands that made up the Fire Nation. She threw a brief fit, screamed and cursed and after much time, let the matter go. She was tired of fighting and arguing, if they did not see fit for her to accompany them, then so be it.
Never mind that she was the one who had planned the majority of it, had been in contact with the noble houses stretched across the islands and that she had overseen the planning for the Grand Progress, even going so far as to include the newly established, Republic City.
So instead of seeing past the city in which the Palace was contained, she remained behind. To keep busy, she ordered the renovation of the Palace and oversaw the restoration that was being done.
When they all returned, tired from balls, tournaments, and other such things, she was there waiting. She greeted him briefly, her tone cold. He paid her no heed and went off to retire to his chambers. Following this incident, for the Grand Progress had nearly three years to complete, her bitterness began to fester.
The people did not see, for all they saw was the bright and cheery woman that had kept the Nation together while their Fire Lord was away. However, again she began to fade, even from their memories. For when their Fire Lord returned, his advisors insisted that she be restricted to the palace and public demonstrations. He agreed after much pressure and another fight ensued.
She felt more like a prisoner then ever before. She would wander about and consistently find new rooms and have adventures to herself. She never got lost, always appearing briefly for meals before wandering off again, after all, they had made it clear that they did not wish to see her face.
With more time to herself, her ears and eyes became sharper. The noblewomen that used to crowd her apartments dwindled over time. It came to the point that she eventually had no visitors whatsoever, every single day of the year, for many, many, many years.
As she spent more and more time away from the public eye, easily vanishing into the shadows, the murmurs of those beneath and above her began to eat away at her core. They blamed her for everything and hated her very being. For she was different, she had changed, and no one loved her anymore, not even the Fire Lord (or so they claimed). Dirt ran through her veins and stained her skin and eyes, she had no place in the Fire Nation and deserved to be cast out.
When the order came for her to stay in her apartments, which in reality, was a separate palace with its own garden, she did not fight. Her stubbornness and fight had faded away just as stone wears down with time. She passed her days quietly, greeting the Fire Lord when he came to visit and attending to her nearly grown children.
They were to be made generals, advisors, ambassadors and guards - never princes or princesses. Yet, she never protested their treatment and continued on with life. Even outliving her rival and having him to herself after a long wait.
They traveled the world together and he entertained her with tales and gifted her with gifts. However, fate was never on her side, for her rival had passed too late and she, she had come to power too early. They could never accept her as one of their own. They cursed her name and children. The public sang that accursed song and were glad that the Fire Lord passed on his duty to his daughter.
His daughter whom they considered their only ally in the palace. For she was of noble birth, her blood was laced with power, true fire running her veins. Unlike the others, whose only claim was the dirt from which their mother had come.
Their mother, who wore green trimmed with gold. Their mother, who was unable to attain power. Their mother, who was only known as the, 'the Honorable Imperial Consort'. Their mother, forced to make an existence away from the public and the palace. Their mother, who had never gained the trust and love of the people.
Their mother, who stole the Fire Lord's first kiss and date in the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se.
They hated her.
It's a long, long way to Ba Sing Se
But the girls in the city they look so pretty
And they kiss so sweet that you've really got to meet
The girls from Ba Sing Se!
A/N: I remember browsing once, a very long time ago, through a forum that detailed each of countries in Avatar and their 'real-life' counterparts. There was something about the Fire Nation resembling the Ming Dynasty and with every dynasty, the emperor typically takes on a number of consorts/concubines. Obviously, Zuko's character/overall personality would never allow him to do this due to his very strong sense of honor and loyalty coupled with no consorts/concubines being mentioned in the series but it was something that had grown on me and finally had to be let out.
If you want to know more about concubines/consorts and that sort of thing, I'd point you a cleverly worded Google search or one of those nice Taiwanese/Chinese/Korean/Japanese traditional dramas about Ancient East Asia and the power struggle they faced with family ties. (I find them to be much more complicated then those of European society, because bastards and consorts, though present, were generally frowned upon due to the Church's influence)