The first few flakes of snow started to fall from the darkened sky, dusting the streets and rooftops with white. Jinora pulled her red coat tighter around her in an attempt to keep out the cold as she walked around the streets of Republic City. She looked again at the address scrawled down on a small piece of paper and walked further down the wide street. At the end of the street, she was greeted by a giant manor house, which could only be rivaled in size and luxury by the Sato Manor which she just passed. The walls of the manor were a rich dark brown and the rooftops were a lacquered forest green, both of which were stunning compliments to the white snow. A light shone from almost every window, exuding a sense of warmth, contrasting the dark palate of the manor's exterior.
Jinora hurriedly looked at the address again and back at the house and slowly made her way up the outdoor staircase. She finally reached the front door and stood on her tip-toes to reach the jade door knocker. She gave the door three hard knocks which reverberated against the dark polished wood and waited patiently for someone to answer.
The door finally opened and she was greeted by the team captain of the Wolfbats who had just stepped out of the shower. Tahno stood at the door, his wavy hair plastered to his head in nothing but a towel around his waist. Jinora stood wide-eyed for a moment before she hurriedly spoke up.
"Uhm…Excuse me. I'm here to see Ming."
Tahno's eyebrows furrowed as he took a second look at Jinora.
"Why?"
"Well. I was told to come here by Bao; he runs Bao's Bookstore. He said Ming has the book I'm looking for."
Tahno's eyes widened in recognition as he yelled into the manor;
"Ming! Some kid is here to see you!"
Tahno then motioned her to come inside the front room. Jinora quickly stepped into the house and brushed the flakes of snow off of her shoulders. Tahno slammed the door and walked away, leaving puddles across the polished wood floor.
Jinora looked around to see a grand staircase in the middle of the room leading to an upper landing in which two more staircases branched off to the left and right sides of the house. The entire interior of the house matched the aesthetics of the outside; the floors were a dark wood that had been polished to reflect the warm glow of the chandelier that hung from the high ceiling. The railings were the same lacquered deep green that had been used on the rooftops outside.
It was at that moment that Jinora heard footsteps descending from the upper left staircase. A tall man with dark brown hair appeared on the landing, looking at her quizzically. As he came down the grand staircase, he noticed the puddles of water Tahno had left on the floor.
"Tahno! You're a waterbender! The least you could do is clean up the water you tracked all over the floor!"
A barking laugh came from the right of them as Tahno emerged from the other room with small, pink curlers in his hair. He raised his arm slowly and collected the water from the floor. Ming continued to glare at him for a moment before he turned his attention to Jinora. He greeted her warmly with a small smile.
"Hello. What do you need?"
"Bao sent me here. He said you were a rare book collector and that you have the book I'm interested in."
"That depends. What kind of book are you interested in?"
"I want to know what happened to the wife of Fire Lord Ozai. Would you happen to have some genealogical records of the Fire Nation Royalty during and after Hundred Year War?"
Ming stared at her in amazement.
"Ha! I like the way you think. But unfortunately I have all of those, and they don't reveal anything about Ursa."
Jinora's face fell and she walked towards the door.
"Wait! I didn't say that was all I had. I have journals written by Fire Lord Zuko himself detailing what happened to his mother."
Jinora turned to face Ming again, her face alight with excitement and curiosity.
"Really? Could I read them?"
"Of course, my library is just up the stairs to the left. To be honest, I think I might join you."
When Jinora finally reached the library, she was amazed. Each wall was lined with books and rolls of parchment. Each of the shelves was the same dark wood that was used in the rest of the manor and the carpet was a deep green with a circular pattern embroidered in gold thread. The main source of natural light in the room was an enormous circular skylight which was currently being covered by the falling snow. In the middle of the room there were two plush green chairs with a small side-table in between them, and a long, brass reading lamp for each chair.
As Jinora stood in awe, Ming quickly went over to the bookshelf on the right and grabbed a thick book with a maroon cover.
"Here they are. These are the Fire Lord Zuko's journals. They aren't the originals, but they were put into publication after the Fire Lord retired from the throne. However, his daughter wasn't too happy about it and she banned any more copies from being published."
Ming handed her the well-read book and smiled warmly.
"Thank you so much." Jinora returned his smile and holding the book to her chest, walked over to one of the green armchairs. She flicked on the bronze lamp and sat in the chair, her legs crossed, both hands holding the book steadily.
Ming pulled another well-worn book from the shelf and sat beside her, leaning back into the chair, his legs outstretched. From the sidetable, he took his reading glasses which had a golden frame with the lenses shaped like small circles. He opened his book and began to read.
Silence permeated the room occasionally being broken by the turning of pages and an occasional sneeze from Ming. After a while, Ming turned to Jinora and asked
"Would you like some tea?"
Jinora looked up from her book in surprise.
"Oh! Yes please."
Ming smiled and walked over to the door. He opened the door and called
"Shaozu! Can you make some green tea?"
A yell of agreement echoed off the walls of the manor as Ming closed the door. Jinora heard a pair of footsteps descend the grand staircase followed by muffled clanking coming from what she assumed was the kitchen.
A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Ming placed his book down and went to open the door for Shaozu, who was carrying a tray that held a green teapot and two green cups. Shaozu walked over to the sidetable and put the tray down.
Ming was back in his chair and he motioned to Jinora
"Watch this."
Shaozu smirked and wrapped his hands around the bottom of the teapot. Steam began to curl out from the spout of the teapot as the water inside began to boil. Jinora's expression was one of absolute delight. Shaozu removed his hands from the bottom of the teapot.
"And that is why I make all the tea around here." He said chuckling.
"Thank you Shaozu." Ming replied.
"Yes, thank you. That was amazing!"
Shaozu turned to Jinora and smiled.
"It was no problem, really."
Shaozu left the library as Ming and Jinora turned back to their books.
The rest of the day and most of the evening was spent curled up between the pages of a book while Shaozu brought them more tea. Jinora expressed the same delight and thankfulness each time he brought them another pot of tea.
The sky had darkened by the time Jinora had put the maroon book down on her lap. She stared off into the distance for a while, reconciling what she had just read. She slowly turned to Ming and asked
"So…that's it? That's what really happened?"
Ming took off his reading glasses and replied
"This is as much as we know."
Jinora then looked back at the book, her hand absent-mindedly stroking the cover. She looked up to the skylight to one spot where the night sky peeked through among the snow.
"Oh! It's already dark outside! I have to go."
Ming was a bit surprised by her sudden departure.
"Do you want me to drive you home?"
"No thank you."
Ming nodded and replied
"Thank you for the lovely day. You are welcome back anytime."
Jinora smiled as she closed the door to the library, leaving Ming among the rows of parchment and books with the pleasant aroma of green tea still hung in the air.