Chapter 1:
It was finally over - the hundred year war. Yet the pain, suffering, and scars were still there. After Sozin, Azulon, and Ozai, everyone was expecting the end. The air nation being wiped out was the first declaration of war the world had ever seen. People from all over were shocked and trapped in a reality that never should've existed in the first place. And now that it was over, a mess like none other had emerged. A mess that a never-before-trained Fire Lord had to fix.
Avatar Aang defeated Fire Lord Ozai fifteen years ago, but life in the nations was still not perfect. The world still had a long way to go from achieving total peace. If anything, there were more riots and famine breakouts now. The people were dying when they were supposed to be free. This ate Zuko up every morning when he woke and every night as he drifted off to sleep. Especially now, as he sank in his chair, avoiding the gaze of the world leaders sat at his table.
"Fire Lord Zuko, your father's reign came to an end more than a decade ago, why haven't the colonies been granted their freedom? Unless they are still under Fire Nation rule?" Queen Kuri of the Earth Kingdom asked leaning forward.
"No of course not-", Zuko began but only to be interrupted.
"Fire Lord, your nation still hasn't paid it's debt to the Northern Water Tribe for invading our country and killing the moon spirit", Chief Karmuri of the Nothern Water Tribe stated.
"My nation has not forgotten chief, but-", Zuko started nervously.
"Fire Lord Zuko, what is being done about the Fire rebels in the east of Omashu? They are vandalizing Earth Kingdom goods!" King Bumi of Omashu titled his head to the side as he spoke then snorted.
"I well aware and we have the situation under-", Zuko tried to sound confident but fell apart as other leaders raised their concerns.
"Fire Lord!"
"Fire Lord Zuko!"
"Zuko?"
The next time Zuko opened his eyes, he was in his bed and not in the war room. He turned his head to the side and noticed Mai, his wife, by his side. She smiled, something that she didn't do often, and she brushed a strand of hair out of his face. Zuko closed his eyes and sighed loudly, frustrated with himself. It happened again. It happened every year.
"I fainted didn't I?" Zuko asked.
"You did", Mai confirmed.
He groaned and covered his eyes with his arm ashamed. He felt completely pathetic. Once a year, all the world leaders gathered in the Fire Nation for "the big meeting". They were now known as the League of Nations or LON. Zuko always dreaded that time of year. He would go into the meeting with confidence but never made it through the entire thing. You'd think after fifteen years of being Fire Lord he would be used to all the confrontational yelling and the questions that had nothing to do with him, but no, they still scared him.
"Hey, at least you got a word in this time", Mai tried to be encouraging.
"I made a complete fool of myself and now no one respects the Fire Nation", Zuko mumbled into his pillow.
"Don't beat yourself up, there's always next year."
"Watch me fuck it up next year."
"Come on Zuko, let it go. Besides, it's the festival tonight. Your son is excited, you should be too."
Zuko rolled his eyes as he placed his palm against his wife's very swollen stomach. He felt a strong kick which made him smile. He kissed her belly button and felt another kick against his face. Though Mai was convinced it was a boy she was carrying, Zuko was praying for a baby girl. But no matter the gender, he would love his child all the same. He quickly fixed his hair, grabbed his beloved's hand and the two exited their chamber.
The party was already underway, though it never truly started without the Fire Lord himself. And of course, due to the fainting, Zuko was always late. Once the double doors opened, everyone faced in his direction and clapped before carrying on as normal. He looked around the room and spotted "team avatar" in the right corner of the room. Because they were all so busy fixing the world, they were never together much. Zuko and Mai walked towards them. They were instantly welcomed with a bear hug given by Sokka.
"Hey I heard you got burned again sparky", Sokka laughed then cried out in pain.
"Nicknames are my thing", Toph stated punching his arm.
"I'm just saying, it's ironic that the fire bending Fire Lord couldn't handle the heat!"
Zuko looked down ashamed, Mai held his hand in an attempt to comfort him then glared at Sokka. Toph punched him in the stomach this time and the rest of the team burst out laughing as they watched Sokka go weak at the knees. Even Zuko managed to smile, though his mind still was still pretty preoccupied. As the festivities went on, boredom washed over the Fire Lord effortlessly. He hated parties, he never seemed to fit in and always felt out of place. Maybe it was because he was too uptight or he simply wasn't in the mood for celebrating. From his chair he could see just about everything, men drinking, children playing and women dancing. It was beautiful. Sometimes Zuko wondered if this what his great-great-grandfather had in mind, though his ideas were very twisted. When Sozin wanted peace for the world in the hands of the Fire Nation, what exactly did he see?
"Can you at least pretend to smile, people are looking at us weird", Mai whispered.
Zuko snapped out of it and cleared his throat before attempting to flash a smile. Mai looked away disturbed, he really needed lessons on the art of "the perfect smile". Zuko was always impressed by his wife's ability to angle her lips, even though she didn't smile very often. He could learn a thing or two from her.
The party was always long and frankly, Sokka never had enough beef jerky. Not being a very social person, Zuko felt uncomfortable in this setting. He grew tired very quickly but remained as it was customary for the Fire Lord to end to festivities. He hated giving speeches, he hated talking as an authority figure, he hated ruling! All of it! When he was on that ship for two years, tracking the Avatar, all Zuko could think about was becoming Fire Lord some day. But now that he was on the throne with his entire country at his feet, he'd rather be the banished prince again. He'd give anything to be back at sea where no one cared about his whereabouts, where no one would come to look for him. But he knew that day wasn't near. Plus he had people to take of now. His friends, his wife, and future child.
Zuko felt an electric shock on his shoulder as Mai dug her nails into his shoulder. Zuko opened his eyes wide and he watched his wife hold back groans as she knelt down in front of her chair. There was a puddle of water on the floor and her shoes were soaked. Her forehead was hot and sweaty. He wasn't sure since he wasn't an expert but he had a pretty good idea of what was going on.
"Mai! Did-"
"Yeah..."
The Fire Lord placed an arm on his wife's waist as he helped her stand. Mai moaned in pain and Zuko knew she was probably having contractions. That's what the doctor said would happen once her water broke. Team Avatar ran over to the couple to help them. Toph built a rock bed for Mai to lie on while Suki helped her regulate her breathing. Sokka worked on getting everyone out of the room as quickly as possible.
"Get the doctor in here now!" Zuko shouted at one of the guards.
"Hurry Zuko the baby is coming!" Mai said breathing heavily.
"Let me handle this", Toph closed her eyes as she felt the location of the royal doctor, "she's in the west wing!"
"That's too far, I can't hold on for much longer!" Mai announced.
"I guess someone's eager to see their father, Ow!" Zuko scratched his hair as he bowed his head shamefully. This was definitely not the time for jokes but it's what he did when he was scared. Mai knew that of course, she knew Zuko was nervous. The two of them had been ready to have a child for quite some time now but they never imagined time would go by so fast.
"Just breathe Mai, keep breathing", Suki instructed. Mai did as she was told, she mimicked Suki's rhythm and it seemed to be working. Her heart rate seemed to be slowing down right before another contraction hit. Mai screamed. Zuko had never heard her scream or even make a sound of any kind. Even when they were alone, she was very quiet. But now, he watched her vocal cords expand as a cry of desperation filled the room. She was in pain and there was nothing he could do.
"Mai..."
Before he could form a sentence the doors flew open and Yuma, the Royal doctor, ran in followed by an army of nurses with equipment. Yuma immediately knelt in front of Mai and checked her cervix. Then she signaled for some of the nurses to approach and they instantly got to work.
"Everyone please clear the room. The Fire Lady needs space", Yuma ordered. Sokka was the first to leave with a disgusted expression on his face. Toph laughed at his weakness before patting Mai's shoulder and leaving, Suki did the same. Zuko was the only one who didn't move. He seemed unfazed, he was still holding his wife's hand as he brushed her hair.
"My Lord, this part of the delivery is going to get messy. In order to not alarm the Fire Lady, I'm going to need you to stay calm, can you do that?" Yuma asked.
"Yes, I can", Zuko replied.
"Good. Fire Lady, I'm going to need you to start pushing okay?"
"Okay!"
"Now push!"
Mai let out a long grunt as she pushed, murdering Zuko's hand in the process. Sure it hurt but Zuko wasn't going to complain. He didn't want to irritate Mai, plus getting struck by lightning was a lot more painful so he could manage. But it was pretty close. Zuko kissed her forehead as she pushed again.
"You're doing great", he said.
After hours of pushing, sweating and minimal bleeding, the cry of victory everyone had been waited for was finally heard. Mai threw her head back exhausted as she attempted to catch her breath. Zuko was finally able to let go of her hand which had traumatized his own for the last two hours. But it was all worth it. The beautiful creation he was holding in his arms made it all worth it. It was a beautiful baby boy who was the spitting image of his mother. It looked like Mai was right, even though Zuko was certain it was going to be a girl. Nevertheless, he was an Agni. The first prince of the Fire Nation and heir to the throne. Zuko continued to rock his baby back and forth, admiring all his features.
"I told you it was a boy", Mai said weakly.
"Shut up", Zuko replied playfully.
"What will we name him?"
"How about Zorras?"
"I like it".
"Then it's settled, welcome to the world Prince Zorras".
Just then, the doors flew open and a couple of guards entered the room. They immediately knelt in the presence of the Fire Lord, Zuko instructed them to rise and state their purpose. He was a little pissed that this special moment with his son was interrupted, but he also knew that it was most likely for an important reason. Zuko looked at Mai with sad eyes. She smiled and told him they would speak later. Zuko waited until the Royal Doctor and nurses escorted Mai and the baby out of the room before speaking. The man in front of him was commander Ryuu, his most trusted general.
"This had better be of the utmost importance commander!" Zuko's voice was stern.
"Pardon the interruption Fire Lord Zuko. But the rebels have reached the capital. They have set fire to Water Tribe houses. Four people have been killed sir", Commander Ryuu explained. His head remained low.
"This isn't good. We need to track down these criminals and contain this news before it spreads."
"I hate to be the bearer of more bad news sir but both Water Tribes have been informed. The chiefs of the Nothern and Southern Water tribes will be coming to the capital. The League of Nations has called for an emergency war meeting in two weeks time."
"Thank you, commander Ryuu."
The commander knelt once more before exiting the room. As soon as he left, Zuko punched his fist into the wall. A black circle appeared. Zuko sighed and pinched the bridge of noise. Perfect. This was exactly what he needed.