Chapter 1
129 AG, Year of the Ox
Maddi
"Mom?" I jumped from where I had been quietly reading a scroll to face the door. Over eleven years of being a mother had ingrained that tone of voice to mean there was a crisis that needed averting.
"Izumi, what-"
"Pippi's dead." My eleven year old daughter wailed running to bury her face in my dress. I quickly bent down, pulling my eldest into a comforting embrace.
"Shhhh... It's okay sweetling, it's okay." I whispered rubbing small circles against my daughter's shoulder blades. I stood there, quietly comforting her until she was nearly out of tears. She looked up at me finally, hiccuping, face red, snot and tears leaving a monster face in my dress, and I could see that she was going to start crying again.
"Come on." I stated, generally guiding her to my room. I pushed up the sheets, and crawled into bed with her. We lay there for a while while my daughter cried, tightly clutching the shirt of my dress. Once she had calmed down enough to breath properly, leaving another monster face impressed into my shoulder, I gently turned her face to meet my own.
"Are you feeling better now?" I quietly asked her. She nodded.
"It's okay if you don't. Izumi, there is no shame in crying." I added.
"But you don't." She stated, her dark brown hair hanging in front of her face. I chuckled and tucked a strand behind an ear.
"That's not true." I corrected.
"You never cry," she insisted, "when you lost one of my little siblings, when my brothers got sick and everyone thought they were going to die, you don't even cry after your nightmares." I jerked, eyes wide.
"Where did you hear about that?" I asked, alarmed. Izumi's gold eyes widened. She had her father's eyes, all my children did.
"I had a nightmare too one night... You woke up and let me in bed with you and dad, and you told me you had nightmares too before you fell asleep. I guess you forgot..." I sighed, relaxing, but only slightly.
"I do cry, but never where others can see it. Only your father has seen me cry... I'm sorry." I finished, still running my hand comfortingly through my daughter's hair. She stared at me wide eyed as I explained.
"I have taught myself how to be the ideal 'Fire-Lady' or at least, as ideal as I will allow myself to be." Izumi gave a watery laugh. I leaned forward, kissing her forehead.
"You know, Pippi was a very, very old butterfly-rabbit. He lived a very good, happy life."
"She." Izumi insisted as she lay beside me. I carefully kept my mouth closed. I had been telling her since the beginning that Pippi was a boy but she wouldn't listen. At this point I was just going to give up. Pippi would be forever the gender-swapped butterfly-rabbit.
"I'll never get another pet!" My daughter suddenly cried. I shook my head.
"Don't speak to soon, I'm sure that in a year or two you'll change your mind." I told her. She shook her head violently. Smiling gently I lifted her face out of my shirt.
"You know your father has that same habit. Seeing the worst in a situation and forgetting all the good that he still had." Izumi sat up.
"Can you tell me what happened after Grandfather Ozai died?" She asked. I chuckled.
"Of course. The first thing your father did was hurry to the other 'prisoner', and the last direct member of his family... Azula."
100 AG, Year of the Monkey
I followed Zuko at a quick pace. I knew where he was going, the place where Azula was now 'kept' although lived was a more accurate description. Azula's home was a decent sized stone building just outside the palace grounds. She was guarded by several advanced firebenders and had a good-sized handful of attendants. She also had three psychologists working on assessing a 'cure' for her 'madness'. In some ways it annoyed me how they looked at it. Azula had a mental illness, she was probably a psychopath or something similar. Unfortunately, my knowledge of mental illness was lacking, it was one of the few subjects that I hadn't been interested in. What little I did know came from the occasional cop or crime show, which I doubted were perfectly accurate.
The guards at the doors quickly stepped aside, Zuko and I being the only ones other than Azula's psychologists and servants who were allowed in on a regular basis. I stopped in the entrance way while Zuko continued on ahead. It was the first time I had actually been inside Azula's house since she had been returned to the fire nation. The decoration reminded me a great deal of what the rest of the palace looked like on the inside, reds and golds were everywhere. I carefully stepped onto the floor which was made of stone. Very few things in here were flammable, and for good reason, Azula was still very unstable at times and prone to temper tantrums. I ran one hand against a ceramic table as I quietly followed the path that Zuko had taken to find Azula.
They were in the living room and all the servants had vanished which in and of itself was not a good sign. I stopped and quickly backed up so I would not be hit by any stray bolts of either fire or electricity.
"Zuko, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Azula asked, sprawling on a couch. She was dressed in the full regality that a princess deserved and for a moment I felt a stab of bitterness run through me. Why did she, who committed so many crimes, get a nice comfortable place like this? Because she had a psychotic break and because she was royalty, another part of me answered.
Zuko seemed to falter, and I wondered what was going through his mind. Was he worried about hurting his sister or that she would attack him? I stayed quiet and watched.
"Azula, something happened to father." He finally stated, taking a seat beside her. Azula narrowed her gold eyes at her brother.
"What happened?"
"He's dead."
I ducked out of the way as something shattered against the wall.
"WHAT!" Azula screamed. Something else shattered. The distinct sound of fire let me know that either the couch or drapes had caught fire. There weren't many other options.
"He was assassinated when he was being moved to another jail-" Zuko began but was cut off by Azula's shrieks of anger.
"Its all your fault!" She howled. I quickly stepped further away, I didn't want to get into a situation that I couldn't handle without my weapons. Of course I didn't have them, no weapons were allowed in here. In my opinion that was ridiculous but as future Fire Lady I also hadn't had much access to them either.
"Azula, please." Zuko's voice cracked. I wanted to go to him but I couldn't, not with Azula. I turned away, deciding to talk to Zuko later. Just as the turned the corner I distinctly hear Zuko's broken voice beg.
"Azula, please, you're my sister, I don't want to lose the last member of my family."
I closed my eyes quietly and walked away.
An hour or so later Zuko reappeared. I noticed that his clothes were charred in places. His face was solemn. He glanced at me and I could clearly see the red veins in his eyes. I quickly fell into pace beside him.
"Are you okay?" I asked softly.
Zuko glanced at me then gave a tiny smile.
"I'll be fine in a bit." He replied.
"You don't have to be." I told him, grabbing a hand, "Its okay to be upset." Zuko stared at me for a moment, looking torn.
"The fire nation needs me." I didn't have anything to say to that. It was true, the fire nation needed their Fire Lord to be strong.
"If you feel it is needed we can announce the wedding now, start working on preparations." I told him, still firmly holding his hand. Zuko's eyes widened as he stared at me.
"You would do that?" He asked. I forced myself to smile. What was best for the Fire Nation, that was the most important thing right now. I had an entire country that needed me.
"Yes." He smiled at me and I could tell that he was genuinely happy. This time the smile crossing my face was just as real. I may have been nervous and uncomfortable but this was what was needed. I had known when I had gotten in a relationship with Zuko that it would require me to make sacrifices that most other girls would never have to. I couldn't just think about myself and Zuko, just as he couldn't think about himself and me. We both had an entire country to think about, it was almost like having a million children, people who were relying upon you for so much. Failure wasn't an option anymore.
"Well then, we have preparations to make." I stated briskly. There was a lot to do when it came to a wedding after all.
It took three weeks to get all the preparations ready. Messages had to be sent literally around the world for not only our friends, Fire Nation nobility had to be informed, as well as nobility from the other nations such as King Kuei. Then there was the ceramony date to set, wedding garments had to be designed, I had to be let in on the customs of the Fire Nation wedding, and we had to discuss how some water tribe elements (as well as some more modern ones) could be added. That was just the beginning of all the preparations as well.
There were also that tradition... the one that the Fire Nation wouldn't budge on and one that I was completely unwilling to have.
"Please, Fire Lord Zuko, you must convince Maddison-"
"I am right here, you can talk to me." I snapped, "And I am not going to be able to do anything with someone staring while Zuko and I 'consummate our marriage!'" Zuko quickly interfered.
"This is the fourth time we have had this argument. Why don't we compromise. The sage can sit outside the door. That way he can hear and appease customs and Maddi will be comfortable." He suggested. The sage nodded, looking grumpy but willing to tolerate it. I sighed.
"That will be adequate." I agreed.
Zuko sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Then I must get going, Maddison needs to get dressed in her wedding garment and I must get change as well. I will see you both later." Zuko nodded and left. The sage and I glared at each other and finally he stormed out.
I sighed and turned around, entering my chambers where the three maidservants I had bee assigned were waiting for me. Chou, Akane, and Tanvi. Chou and Akane were both just girls, Chou being fifteen and Akane sixteen. Tanvi was a woman in her mid-forties who was well acquainted with working for nobility. She had been surprised at my lack of knowledge when it came to noble customs, such as not dressing myself, but had understood when I explained by 'backstory'. Not my real one of course, but the one that I had told everyone the first time I had met them.
"My Lady," Tanvi stated, bowing deeply. I smiled. Tanvi was a good woman, these three women had become very important to me in the last few weeks. I had been able to laugh and chat with Chou and Akane, I had been able to tell Tanvi about my worries.
I took a stand in the centre of the room while the three women chatted, taking off my current dress and putting on layer upon layer for my wedding dress. It was gorgeous. White with red flower designs, it was a full out kimono. After the full three layers of dress were on the three women began putting on makeup and doing my hair. An intricate headpiece was worked into the braid. It was coloured blue, unlike the rest of my outfit, and designed with water tribe designs and carvings. Sokka had designed it. It was painfully heavy but I would have to manage.
When I was done they showed me a mirror. I barely recognized myself. White skin, red lips, heavy kohl around the outside of my eyes. My hair was tightly braided around the headpiece. I looked every bit like the traditional fire nation woman.
"Wow." I muttered, reaching up to touch my cheek. Last second I stopped myself.
"How long do I have until the ceramony?" I asked, looking between the three women.
"Just a few minutes my lady. Is there something I can help you with?" Akane asked, her amber eyes glittering.
"No, I'm merely nervous." I replied, moving from where I had been standing in the centre of the room to take a seat in a beautifully carved wooden chair. I glanced at the desk and then picked up the last piece of my outfit. One I had specifically asked to be set aside. I stared at the beautiful necklace I had worn for a long time and carefully fastened it around my neck. The necklace of four nations was a familiar weight, I hadn't worn it for only a few minutes and yet I had missed the familiar weight.
It felt like an eternity passed until there was a knock on the door.
"Maddison-" I was up and smoothing the imaginary creases out of my kimono. It was Sokka. He blinked in surprise at me.
"The ceramony is about to start, they're waiting for you." I nodded and swept out of my room, almost unaware of the calls from my handmaidens.
Taking a deep breath I slowed my pace.
"You okay?" Sokka teased. I nodded tersely.
"I'm fine, just..."
"Nervous, I understand that." Sokka chuckled.
"Do I look good?" I asked, feeling for the first time in a long time, worried about my appearance.
"Eh." Sokka shrugged. I narrowed my eyes at him. He blinked at me in surprise.
"Personally its all overdone. You don't need it."
"Nice catch." I replied dryly. Our conversation came to an end as I saw Zuko. I came to stand beside him. He smiled at me and offered his arm. I took it. Together we walked out of the palace and into the light for the entire crowd to see.
There was a great deal more people than I had thought there would be. All our friends, even Toph, were there, watching from the front row. Everyone was standing as there were no chairs to speak of. There wouldn't have been enough to seat them all anyway. King Keui was the only one with a chair but he wasn't sitting either.
Zuko and I took a stand at the centre of the dais a fire sage right behind us. He than crossed to stand before us and began talking.
The speech was long and talked mostly about what this marriage meant for the fire nation, the history of Zuko's family, and that this marriage was the beginning of a great age of prosperity. I waited patiently until the man turned and took out a red ribbon. The red ribbon of fate was what it symbolized. He then tied it tightly to my wrist and Zuko's the knot a good distance away from either of our wrists. I waited, eyes carefully focused on Zuko's.
There was a burst of heat and it was over. The ribbon's knot was burned and the fire quickly faded away. I took a quiet breath of relief and turned to face all the people. Screams and cheers echoed from the crowd.
"Long live Fire Lord Zuko, long live Fire Lady Maddison!" I gave a jittery smile to the people as Zuko and I moved towards the table where we would sit for the rest of the ceramony. Most of it was partying for the guests, of course Zuko and I would be presented with gifts and well-wishes. Then, after dinner the two of us would leave and consummate the marriage. Most likely the only part I had been looking forward to. Of course even that was a little less exciting as the thought of some old fire sage sanding outside the door and listening was far from appealing.
I sat beside Zuko, and squeezed the hand he offered me.
"Fire Lord Zuko, Fire Lady Maddison."
"King Kuei," I replied with a nod of acknowledgement. The man handed us his gift.
"A symbol of peace. I also look forward to seeing you at the peace talks in a few weeks." He stated. Zuko took the gift with a nod.
"We will be there." He promised, placing the gift to one side. Keui turned and walked away to join in the celebrations. I took a deep breath, squeezing Zuko's hand tightly. Zuko gave me a tight smile and squeezed back. This was going to be a long six hours. I realized as the next dignitary appeared.
"Are you okay Maddi?" I laughed at Katara's words. She, Suki and our friends had slipped in front of the next dignitary.
"I'm fine." I replied, especially since you're here, my mind added.
"At least this party has good wine." Toph sniffed, "Beer would make it better." Zuko laughed while Katara and Suki both looked scandalized.
"I'm afraid that we're not allowed beer at this ceramony, but you are welcome to join the other parties that will be going on in the capital. I can promise those will have plenty of beer." I sniggered. Toph snorted something about sissy parties. Katara quickly took over the conversation.
"So what are you two planning next?"
"That will be figured out at the peace talks," I admitted to her, "So far we're just taking all this one step at a time." She smiled and nodded.
We chatted for a while but eventually they had to leave and the ceramony continued. I found myself praying that everything would go alright. I was terrified, but most noticeably by what what was in danger. If it was discovered that I was not a virgin Zuko and my marriage would be in danger, as would the security that the fire nation needed.
No one could know. Somehow I had to keep it a secret just between Zuko and I.
I prayed that it wouldn't all come crashing down around my head. The stakes were too high.
A/N: Hello again everyone! This is the first chapter of the sequel to Change the World, Life Never Ends. I hope you all like it so far and plan to join my on the second part of this journey. But first off, thank you all who supported me in Change the World. With 716 reviews, 518 favourites and 632 followers I am just so happy with how well that story turned out.
Thank you all once again,
Princess Kassie Out.