Great Joy and Greater Sorrow
"Excuse me, I need to attend to something. I'll return shortly."
The Fire Lord walked calmly, but swiftly, out of the room where dozens of important generals and counselors had gathered to push information in him (all at the same time) for the past three hours. He glided down the hallway and took a sharp left toward a little-known door that would take him outside—the long way around the palace to get to his destination.
He didn't want to risk anyone stopping him for another chat.
He wasn't sure he had it in him to listen anymore today.
He stepped into the courtyard garden and instantly let out a sigh of relief. The gentle lull of the fountain, the tranquil quacking of turtleducks, the swish of the breeze through the trees… these were the only sounds he wanted to hear today.
He walked over to the tree and placed his hand on the rough bark, suddenly hit with a pang of longing and loneliness.
"I miss you, Uncle," he whispered to the garden.
And then he remembered that roughened voice, so achingly familiar to him, saying, "The great sadness we feel for a lost love can be beautiful, because it means that the joy we had when they were with us was great."
He fell to his knees and let himself be just Zuko for a moment, not the Fire Lord, and he mourned his beloved Uncle in the quiet garden.
Author's Note:
Team: Earth Kingdom
Category: Drabble
Prompt: Garden
Word count: 247
ATLA