Avatar: The Last Airbender
Water.
Earth.
Fire.
Air.
It has been six years since the end of the Great War. Since Aang defeated Fire Lord Ozai.
The citizens are working hard to reconstruct their battered countries, and there has been great success so far. Fire Lord Zuko had reclaimed his nation's honor; Toph is now a great earthbending trainer; Sokka is chief of the Southern Water Tribe, with Suki at his side; Aang had started up a group called The United People's Society.
Great progress had been made in reuniting the Four Nations. Much is being done to maintain order and peace. But my friends and I know that where there is light, there is shadow.
No matter how far we've come, there is always more work to be done.
Chapter Three: The Fire Lord's Wife
"Mommy!" Narya wined. "I wanna go to the festival!"
Mai sighed, exasperated. Her daughter had been begging to go to the annual Red Tiger Festival for weeks.
"Mom?!" The little girl was tugging at the Fire Lady's dress by now.
Mai looked at her. She ran her hand over her daughter's hair. Narya was so little and sweet and innocent—how could she be denied anything?
"Okay, sweetie." Mai smiled. "We'll have to see what your father thinks first."
Mai made her way down the main hall, and took a right. She finally came to the door to the Fire Lord's grand office, and knocked. When no answer came, she let herself inside.
The office was in utter disarray. The books looked as though they were carelessly shoved into the bookcases. The rug showed light brown mud smears, and was beginning to fray at its edges. Then her eyes found the desk. There were numerous papers crumpled and scattered across the desk. Mai couldn't even see its mahogany surface. Her eyes continued to scan the messy table in awe. She came across the Fire Lord, and suppressed a snicker. Her husband was slumped in his chair, snoring very loudly. His hair was shaggy, his clothes were wrinkled, and he looked as if he hadn't shaved within the last three years.
"Zuko…?" she softly called to him.
The man snorted and twitched. Then he opened his eyes, blinked sleepily, and slowly sat up in his chair. Mai approached his side and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She moved to give him a kiss on the cheek, but saw the ragged stubbles and thought better of it.
"Hon, I think you're spreading yourself too thin." Mai lifted his chin to meet his eyes. "I mean, between sleeping, and eating, and going to meetings… You hardly have enough time to relax."
Zuko's only reply was a weary grunt.
"Why don't you call off today's meeting?"
He blinked, and suddenly appeared more alert. "Mai, you know I can't do that. I have to speak for my country. I have to do the meeting."
His wife giggled. "Zuko, you're a mess. If you address everyone like this, you'll singlehandedly put the Fire Nation to shame! Again," she added with a smirk.
"Fine," Zuko grumbled, rising to his feet. "I'll go change."
Mai slapped her hand across the man's chest, stopping him in his tracks. "No, you're staying home. You've done enough; now let the nations figure it out for themselves. They can do without you for a day."
All of a sudden, a little girl came charging into the office. Mai laughed, and took her daughter in her arms. "Narya can't go without her daddy for another second," she said, with a kiss to her daughter's forehead. "Didn't you want to ask Daddy something?"
Narya gave a wide, toothy grin. "I wanna go to the festival!"
Zuko chuckled, and leaned over to hug Narya. "You mean the one with the Red Tiger?" The little girl nodded. "Hmm," Zuko thought for a second. "That sounds like fun!"
"So can we go?" Mai pressed her head next to Narya's, at which moment the girl twisted her face into a begging expression. "Pwease?"
"Well…" Zuko's eyes moved across the room as he was deciding. "All right."
Narya let out an excited squeal and began to run around the room.
"So does this mean you'll stay home today?"
"Yeah, yeah." Zuko leaned over and gave Mai a peck on the cheek. "I'm all yours today."
"Narya will love that. Daddy's finally taking a day off."
Mai knew her husband genuinely was busy with Four Nations meetings and gatherings. Yet somehow she couldn't stop wondering what was really going on inside Zuko's mind. Lately he had seemed distracted—more so than usual. He didn't seem all too interested in spending time with his family.
An hour had passed, and Mai stepped out of her bedroom, dressed for the festival. She had thrown on traditional Fire Lady attire, and added some blossoms to decorate her hair. Her makeup was light—some neutral-colored eyeshadow and dark red lipstick.
Then the Fire Lord stepped out. He was simply dressed in short Fire Nation peasant robes—like what he had worn before his coronation. His hair was as disheveled as it was that morning. Mai then examined his face. At least he finally shaved.
"Okay, ready?" he asked.
"Yeah." Mai nodded. "Ready."
She exited the bedroom and made her way to her daughter's room. "Narya?" she called. "Are you ready to go to the festival?"
"Yay!" The girl suddenly went hurtling out of the room and down the hall, squealing with delight.
"Zuko? Is there something troubling you?" Mai found herself asking once they arrived at the Red Tiger Festival. The Fire Lord was intently scanning the crowds of people. "Looking for someone?"
"Huh?" Finally, Zuko turned to look at her. His amber eyes were clouded with confusion. Then, the look disappeared, and he seemed to return to normal. "No, uh, I'm fine. Just...thought I spotted one of the Nation Generals."
"Hmm." Mai narrowed her eyes in suspicion. She could sense something big going on within Zuko's mind, but she wasn't about to question him.
"Mai!" a voice cried out to her.
The Fire Lady whipped around in search of her caller. Then she spotted a bald monk waving to her.
"Aang?" she called back. She made her way to his side. "I'm surprised to see you."
Then a waterbender came up from behind and put her arm playfully around Aang's shoulders. "Yeah, you don't really think we'd ever miss a hot festival like this, do ya?" Katara said, and grinned.
Mai admired the tight relationship the two young adults had. She had heard that Katara and Aang broke off their relationship a long time ago, yet they remained very close friends. Figures, Mai thought to herself. They'd known each other forever.
"Are you having a good time?"Aang asked.
Mai shrugged. "Well, actually we—"
"Mama, can we go on that ride?" her daughter asked in a whining tone.
"Ooh, this must be Narya!" Aang bent over and hoisted the little girl in his arms. Mai knew he had always loved children, and wished for one of his own some day.
"Heh-heh, you're baldy!" Narya giggled.
Suddenly Mai felt her face get hot with embarrassment. She couldn't believe her daughter had said that to the Avatar!
She expected to see some sign of anger or shock from the young man, but instead he laughed heartily. "Yes, I am! Good job!"
"Aww, she's adorable!" Katara appeared at Aang's side and began cooing at the little girl.
Mai couldn't help but grin. They would have made such wonderful parents.
Suddenly Mai caught a glimpse of her husband walking towards the chattering group. She hadn't noticed he left her side. He wore a vague expression on his face. His eyes darted nervously from Mai to the waterbender.
"Katara." He slowly walked towards them. Zuko cleared his throat. "Um, hi."
"Hey," the waterbender replied. "How are you, Zuko?"
"Uh, good, I guess."
Mai put her hand on his shoulder protectively. "Please excuse Zuko; he hasn't really been himself lately."
"I understand," Aang said, still holding Narya. "Lot of pressure nowadays, what with the anniversary of the Great War."
"Mm."
"So what have you been up to, Zuko?" Katara looked at the firebender.
"Um." He hesitated, and stared at the young woman.
Then, as Zuko's and Katara's eyes met, they blushed brightly. The moment quickly passed, and Mai told herself that she must have imagined it.
Zuko still stood, struck with silence. Mai pressed closer to him, and said, "We were actually going to take Narya on some of the rides. She begged us to bring her here." She rolled her eyes and grinned.
"Oh, yeah." Aang quickly moved Mai's daughter from his arms to hers. "Sorry we barged in."
"Oh, it's nothing." Mai waved her dismissively. "It was great talking to you guys again."
"You too." The Avatar gave a respectful bow.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Katara and the Fire Lord had broken from the pack and were talking to each other in hushed voices. Mai strained to pick up bits of their conversation.
"Zuko, there's something you need to–"
"Look, Katara, I can't keep this up any longer. Someone somewhere is going to…" His voice trailed off.
With a jolt, Mai realized that the two benders must have noticed that she was listening.
"Anyway…" Katara cleared her throat, but she still sounded anxious. "It was good to see you after so long. I'm glad you're doing well…and Narya's a beautiful girl."
Mai felt warm with pride, yet she knew the waterbender was just saying anything to end the conversation.
"Thank you." Zuko gave Katara a quick hug goodbye—like all friends do, Mai told herself—and then bowed. "Good luck in the future.'
"And to you, too." The young woman repeated the bow, and then took off, following the Avatar back towards their homes.
"Are we gonna go on some rides yet, Mom?" Narya asked.
"Yeah." Mai couldn't take her eyes off of the spot where her husband and Katara were chatting. "Yeah, sure."
--
That night, Mai still couldn't take her mind off of the brief, hushed conversation between Katara and Zuko. She couldn't comprehend what the topic could possibly have been that would be so secretive.
Maybe I ought to talk to Zuko about it, she thought. Throughout their six-year marriage, the Fire Lord had always been faithful to his Fire Lady.
"Zuko," she asked the Fire Lord, who was sitting next to her on their couch. "Something's been bothering me lately."
"Yeah?" He met her eyes. "Like what?"
Mai paused for a moment, wondering exactly how to voice her concern. "Um…Earlier, when we were at the Festival…You were talking to Katara, and quite intently, it seemed. What was the conversation about?"
"Oh." Zuko let out a short chuckle, which almost sounded like a nervous laugh. "We were just discussing, um…how to properly reconstruct the South Pole."
"But it's been six years since the Great War ended. I'd imagine the South Pole would have already been reconstructed by now. And I haven't heard anything of big attacks anywhere."
Zuko's face was blank. He didn't respond.
"Zuko…" Mai touched his arm. "Is there something going on that I should know about?"
She hated to assume the worst, but at this point, Mai was ready to jump to any conclusion if it meant discovering why her husband had been acting so strange lately.
"Uh, no." Zuko suddenly wore an expression of hurt on his face. "No, of course not! How could you even suggest such a thing?"
"I'm sorry. I—"
"Mai, I love you, and only you. You should know that by now." He studied her eyes. "Don't you trust me?"
She was silent for a moment. There was no way she could answer truthfully. "I don't know anymore" was her response. She sighed. "I'm going to bed."
Mai rose from the couch and made her way down the main hall of the Fire Lord's Palace. She entered her bedroom, and closed the door behind her. She just wanted to be alone. Her husband had seemed very distracted the past few weeks, and she couldn't figure out why. She wanted desperately to hear of Zuko's thoughts, so that maybe she could help him sort out his problems, and they can return to a normal family life. But the Fire Lord was carefully guarding his thoughts. It seemed he wasn't about to let anyone in.
Maybe it'll work itself out over time, Mai thought, and then she let herself drift off into slumber.
There was a knock at the front door. Mai was just making her way down the stairs when she saw that Zuko had already greeted their guest. As Mai neared the door, she recognized who it was.
"Zuko, I can't go on any longer!" Katara was saying. She suddenly made a move towards the firebender. "I—"
"Katara, not now." Zuko sounded very anxious. "Mai's about to wake up."
"Is there any place we can meet in private? I really need to talk to you."
Mai's heart sunk. Private plans between her husband and another woman? It didn't sound right.
Their voices blended together into a soft buzz, and Mai's world suddenly started darkening…
She snapped open her eyes. She was back in her bed, with Zuko snoring softly beside her. It was only a dream, Mai told herself, yet it felt too real.
Suddenly, images of the events that unfolded earlier that day flashed through her mind. The awkward events, the strange dream….
Then it struck her. And suddenly, she knew.
End of Chapter Three.