A/N Hey guys! So this is my first A:TLA fan fic and I'm really excited about it. It's a post war probably AU Zutara that will be a mixture of angst, comedy, drama, and romance. I hope you all enjoy and remember, reviews are a girls best friend! I mean, author's best friend :)
Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA, that belongs to Nickelodeon and Mike and Bryan. If I owned it, Zutara would have totally happened. Just saying.
A red messenger hawk flew its way over the volcanic walls of the capital city of the fire nation, determinately aiming for its final destination: the royal palace. It soared over buildings and streets, nobles and peasants until it finally found a place to perch. The messenger servant to the Fire Lord and Lady watched as the bird landed and grabbed the scroll from its back sending the hawk back in the air for its return journey.
The servant glanced at the seal and the name of the recipient knowing who the letter was for. He walked through the large corridors of the palace, decorated in reds and golds with the fire nation emblem hanging on every wall. He eventually came to the two large red doors of the Fire Lord's office. Two guards were dutifully standing outside looking as strong as ever.
"Is the Fire Lord free?" the servant asked one of the guards, not wanting to barge in on something important.
"No, he's in the middle of a heated tournament," one of the guards replied.
"Tournament?"
"Yes, pai cho. Apparently General Iroh challenged the Fire Lord and now it's become quite a game. I wouldn't interrupt it if I were you," the guard warned.
"Alright, I guess I'll go find the Fire Lady and give this to her. Do you know where she is right now?"
"I believe she's reading in the study. Look for her there."
"Ok, thank you very much for your help," the servant bowed politely to the two guards and scurried off to find the Fire Lady. Upon arriving at the study he knocked on the door and entered after hearing a quiet "come in".
"Fire Lady Katara?" the servant tentatively asked as he slowly opened the door revealing the blue eyed, dark skinned queen of the fire nation sitting at a table with an old scroll in her hands.
"Yes?" she asked with a sweet smile, beckoning the servant inside the grand palace study. The study contained shelves upon shelves of scrolls documenting everything from the history of the fire nation to the genealogy of the Fire Lords past.
"A messenger hawk just arrived with this for you and the Fire Lord. He's busy so I figured I'd give this to you," he said as he handed over the scroll.
Katara took the scroll and broke the seal, slowly unraveling the piece of parchment. Her face lit up into a warm smile as she began to read through the contents of the letter.
"What is it?" the servant asked noticing her expression and not afraid to be open with the kind queen.
"Oh it's just that two of my dearest friends are getting married. This is the invitation to their wedding. I'm going to go tell my husband."
"But the Fire Lord's busy, my lady."
Katara rolled her eyes at this. "Oh yes, his intense game of pai cho with Iroh. I'll just have to apologize later for interrupting such a momentous occasion," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm that the servant easily caught.
"Thank you for delivering this to me," Katara said to the servant who simply bowed to the Fire Lady and said, "Just doing my job, your highness."
Katara walked through the palace on her way to the Fire Lord's office, her traditional long red gown swishing as she went. Upon seeing their queen approaching the two guards opened each side of the double doors letting her enter without question.
"Zuko, you have to see this," she said after the doors closed behind her. Fire Lord Zuko was bent over the circular pai cho board contemplating his next move. His uncle Iroh was sitting across from him with a smug look upon his face. Katara figured that the game was in Iroh's favor at the moment, which didn't surprise her at all. Iroh was known for his pai cho skills. That and his famous tea, which also not to her surprise was sitting at his side.
"Not now, Katara. I'm in the middle of something," Zuko said, waving off his wife.
Katara cocked an eyebrow at this and placed a hand on her hip. "Oh really? You know, from where I'm standing it looks like your 'important game' is almost over and not in a good way."
Iroh chuckled at this. "Smart girl," he said.
"Shut up, Uncle," Zuko scowled.
"Besides, I think you can spare a few minutes to look at this," she said as she handed over the scroll. Zuko sighed and took the letter from her, reading it aloud. "'Lady Toph Bei Fong and Avatar Aang invite the Fire Lord and Lady to join them in celebrating their wedding celebration.' Well what do you know? I never thought Toph would be the kind of person to settle down."
"Me neither. But I guess she somehow managed to say yes when Aang proposed. The ceremony is in Ba Sing Se and it's only in a few weeks so we'll need to prepare an airship to take us there. I was thinking we'd stay for two weeks since it's been so long since we have seen everybody and I want some down time. I'm sure the Earth king would let us stay with him but I'll send a messenger hawk to ask just in case. Plus, you'll need to cancel all your war meetings and other appointments or find a way to deal with them all the way in Ba Sing Se. That should give you about a week or so to get everything handled."
"Wow. How long have you known about this?" Zuko asked curiously.
"A few minutes. Why?"
"You managed to think all that out in a few minutes?"
"Well it's a long walk from the study to your office and it gave me the perfect opportunity to plan."
Zuko smiled and shook his head disbelievingly at his wife.
"That's strange," Iroh said suddenly, in a thoughtful voice.
"What?" Zuko asked.
"Well it's just that I got my invitation to the wedding a few days ago. It makes you wonder who's more important to Toph and the Avatar, doesn't it?"
Zuko rolled his eyes at this. "Uncle, just because you got your invitation before we did doesn't mean you're more important to Toph and Aang then we are."
"I don't know. A few days is a long time."
Katara giggled at her in-law and came over to give him a peck on the cheek. "Oh Iroh, what would we do without you?"
"Well you wouldn't have quite an excellent taste in tea. Here try this," he said grabbing the cup of tea that Katara had seen earlier and handing it to her. She took a sip and smiled. "Mmm. This is really good!"
"It's a new recipe I'm working on. It's not quite finished but it won't be long before I'm selling it at my tea shop."
"Well I personally think it's delicious," Katara said as she handed back the cup.
"I always did like you," Iroh said. Katara smiled down at him.
"Are we taking Kuzon with us to Ba Sing Se?" Zuko asked suddenly.
"I'm more comfortable with him coming with us, yes. Two weeks is a long time for us to be away from the palace and I don't know if I feel up to leaving him alone that long."
"Alright. But you know he wouldn't be alone. There would be all the servants attending to him and not to mention the entire royal guard would be watching over the palace. It's not like we're going to take them with us."
"I know, but I'd still miss him terribly. He doesn't necessarily have to come to the wedding, just to Ba Sing Se. Speaking of Kuzon, I was just about to go check on him and I know that you two need to get back to your game, although there's not much to get back to for you, Zuko."
"I'm not doing that bad," Zuko said indignantly. Katara just chuckled and bent down to place a kiss on his scarred cheek before slipping out the door and down the hallway to another large set of double doors with guards standing out front. These guards, like the other ones, automatically opened the doors to let Katara through before quietly closing them behind her.
Katara walked into the dimly lit room to see one of her favorite servants, Lanfen, cradling a small bundle in her arms and rocking it back and forth. Lanfen looked up at the Fire Lady and stood up to pass over the bundle. Katara smiled down at her child, Kuzon, sleeping in her arms. The baby boy had dark black hair and fair skin much like his father's, but his eyes were Katara's. The big and blue orbs mesmerized her every time she looked into them. Zuko always used to say that Katara's eyes were captivating but the first time she looked into Kuzon's eyes, she finally understood what he meant.
"I just got him to go to sleep. He's been in a rather cranky mood all day and wasn't able to have his usual nap. I think he sensed that you were coming and wanted to behave for his mother," Lanfen said with a smile as she came over to Katara's side and watched the small child sleep peacefully.
Katara laughed quietly at this and placed a kiss on Kuzon's forehead. "I'm sure that's it," she whispered before carefully setting him down in his elegant crib fit for the royalty that he was.
Katara then proceeded to take Lanfen into the room adjacent to Kuzon's sleeping chambers so he could sleep soundlessly. "I was just discussing with my husband the plans for a trip to Ba Sing Se. You remember Lady Toph and the Avatar, right?" Lanfen shook her head yes. "They're getting married in a few weeks and we are traveling to attend the wedding and to spend some time with our old friends."
"That's wonderful!" Lanfen quietly exclaimed. She had met the Avatar and his blind girlfriend many times and thought they were a perfect match.
"Yes, it is. I was thinking that I would take Kuzon with us since we will be gone for two weeks. And since you're Kuzon's personal servant, it is only fitting that you should come with us as well."
Lanfen smiled and bowed in the traditional fire nation way. "I would be honored to travel with you and the Fire Lord."
"You know you don't have to bow to me, Lanfen. I'd like to think of the two of us as friends," Katara said with a smile as she invited Lanfen to sit with her on the cushions placed in the elegant palace room.
"I'm pleased that you think of me that way. Normally Fire Ladies don't think twice about their servants," Lanfen said as she sat with Katara, who called for a different servant to bring them some tea, preferably Iroh's.
"But you're not my servant. You're the Crown Prince's. And the most trusted and loyal one, at that."
Lanfen smiled at the kind Fire Lady. She had been working in the palace since she was a little girl and Ozai was on the throne. Back then she was assigned to Princess Azula and was always treated harshly. Now, she was serving the infant prince and the kind Fire Lord and Lady and was happier than ever. That was mostly because of the respect she had for Fire Lady Katara.
Lanfen bowed her head in thanks of Katara's comment and accepted the tea that was brought to them both.
"Speaking of being friends, I was wondering how everything was going between you and the palace guard that seems to admire you so," Katara said as she sipped her tea. Yes, this was definitely Iroh's.
Lanfen blushed furiously at this comment. She hadn't thought their relationship was that obvious.
"What's his name again?" Katara asked.
"Cheng," Lanfen said with a shy smile.
"I see the way he looks at you. He would make a fine husband, you know. You are of marrying age, right?"
"Yes, I'm 18. I have thought of marrying him. It would make my mother proud for me to marry such a brave and strong young man. But of course, he has to initiate it and I'm not sure if he ever will. I'll wait as patiently as I can though."
"Well you certainly have my blessing. And who knows, I might have a few words with Cheng and see what his thoughts are toward the subject," Katara said with a sly smile.
"If you did that, I would be forever grateful."
"That's what friends are for, right?" Katara said with a smile. Lanfen graciously smiled at her lady that she admired so much.
Suddenly, their conversation came to an end with a high-pitched cry echoed through the room.
"Well, I guess someone wasn't in the mood to sleep," Lanfen said as she stood up to go check on Kuzon.
Katara reached out and stopped her. "Let me. He's probably just hungry. You stay here and I'll go feed him before I retire to my bedchamber for the night."
Lanfen bowed as Katara left to go feed Kuzon and sat down on the comfortable cushion, enjoying her break. She would've never been allowed a break when she worked for Azula. Katara truly was a kind and gentle woman while still being the queen of one of the most powerful nations. It still astounded Lanfen that Katara could manage to do both.
After Kuzon was thoroughly fed and put back to sleep, Katara left for her bedchamber very tired. It had been a long day filled with her usual Fire Lady duties, bending practice, and the role of being a wife and mother. The large bed in her and Zuko's room, with its silk sheets and feather light mattress, was looking very inviting at the moment.
She changed into her nightgown and sat down at the large wooden vanity and began combing through her long wavy brown tresses. As she did so, her husband stormed through the door of their bedchamber looking very upset.
"So how did the game go?" Katara asked teasingly. Zuko just turned and glared at his wife.
"I don't want to talk about it," he said with a huff as he began to undress for the night.
Katara giggled and walked over to her husband, the Fire Lord. He had stripped down to some red sleeping pants and a red robe trimmed with gold that he left open to reveal his toned chest. He had also taken his hair down from its usual confinement. Katara wrapped her arms around her handsome husband's waist and gave him a sultry smile.
"It's okay, Zuko. So pai cho isn't your game. Big deal. Besides, pai cho is for the old men who have nothing else to do during their day. You, however, are the king of a game that none of them can even do these days. And you've won time and time again," Katara said with her sexy voice that always drives Zuko crazy. He knew exactly what she was implying. It was exactly the ego boost he needed.
She reached up and kissed him with a passion that had been there since they had first confessed their love for one another.
"How do you always know exactly how to pick me up when I'm down?" Zuko asked.
Katara smiled at him and said, "That's my job as your wife, isn't it?" She kissed him again before walking over to her side of the bed and enveloping herself in the red silk. It felt amazing.
"Oh, I will never get used to how comfortable this bed is," she said with a content and relaxed smile.
Zuko smiled at his wife. It had been a few years since they had wed and she still was in awe of the luxury that came with being royalty.
He got in beside her and protectively wrapped his arms around her middle. He gave her a sweet kiss on the forehead before whispering, "I love you Katara. I'll always love you."
"I love you too Zuko. And I can't wait for our trip to Ba Sing Se. It'll be just what we need to relax and get away for a little while," she said as her eyes began to droop.
A/N So whatcha think? Worth continuing? Review Review REVIEW!
