The Lord and the Lady
By: Lunar Eclipse
Before I say anything, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I am a black-haired, black-eyed, light skinned 14-year-old female. I dress like a goth, but I'm not a dark kind of person, okay? My birthstone is amethyst, I am a Sagittarius, a Rooster, my element is fire and my planet is Mercury. My favorite animal is the panther, my favorite color is purple (really hate yellow and green), I love Japanese culture and anime, and my favorite number is 13 (don't laugh, it's just misunderstood, and someone has to stand up for it!).
This is a series of drabbles about Zuko's and Katara's reign as Fire Lord and Lady. Remember, the stories are not in chorological order. Just warning you…I've decided to keep the disclaimers in these drabbles completely un-imaginative so that I have more creativity to use up on the drabbles. If you find that I fail to do this, simply mention it in you reviews, which you WILL send…Have fun!
Medley of the Nations
This is where Katara's reign as Fire Lady starts; at the proposal. By the way, the part concerning the coloring of the stone by firebending is true; if you heat a stone in a furnace, it will change its color. Same thing happens if you cool it to extreme temperatures. I just thought that if firebenders could induce heat, couldn't it take it away as well? If you forget to review, I will seriously blow my already-short fuse, then chase you down the palace corridors and display the amazing fire-bending abilities I wish I had…
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. There, no spirit at all. Happy?
"Katara, will you marry me?" These words echoed through my head as I tried to wrestle with the confusion that was occurring in my mind. My heart had already made its mind up; I loved him. I knew that Zuko loved me back, with all his heart, but I had no idea that he was planning to do this. He has been Fire Lord for a few months now, and managed to calm down the chaos that had risen in the Fire Nation's government. Now, he was asking me to spend the rest of my life with him, acting as his wife, his counselor, the mother of his children, and second-in-command of the most powerful country in the world.
"Yes, Zuko, of course I will." I answered him; tears streaming out of my eyes. I looked up. Zuko had a small smile on his face, than kissed me fully on the lips, lingering there a little longer than necessary. I blushed. Why was I blushing? He's kissed me plenty of times before. But none of his other displays of affection had ever sealed my fate like this, of a new life full of possibilities. I was finally going to have a home, one other then my village and Appa's saddle. I was very nervous, but full of energy and excitement. We broke apart. I wiped away my tears, and looked up expectantly. He grinned mischievously, and held up a small box.
"Go ahead! Open it!" he told me playfully me. I smirked, feeling like an irresponsible eight-year-old again, not a young woman about to become the Fire Lady.
"Fine, I think I will!" I teased him. The monarchs of the Fire Nation were both grinning and giggling like idiots. I thought vaguely that if our marriage was starting out like this, maybe it wouldn't be so bad at all.
I turned by attention to the box. It was beautiful, but slightly morbid, a pure black onyx container with gold clasps and hinges that contrasted with the shadowy stone. I was full of apprehension; the necklace was supposed to be fashioned according to the kind of lifestyle that the groom was seeking. If this is what the box looked like, I wonder what it will be like inside? It was sure to be very heavily ornamented and dark; not at all my style. I opened it with trembling fingers and gasped. Inside was the traditional water-tribe betrothal necklace, but one of the like that I had never seen before. The cord that was attacked around the neck was a semi-transparent, pale gray material that floated in the air and shimmered in the sunlight with sheen resembling that of mother-of-pearl. Soft, illuminated rainbow colors danced and weaved on the stunning fabric.
But the fastening was nothing compared to the pendant. The stone was not the traditional topaz or turquoise of the water tribes, nor the ruby of the fire nation, but it was a gorgeous amethyst of an intense hue. The stone seemed to be transparent at the back, with swirls of different shades of purple within it, ranging from blue-tinged lavender to nearly-black plum, the individual strands of color glittering. I turned it over. The front was delicately carved a landscape. It was a single water lily floating in the middle of the lake, accented by a setting sun. Strangely enough, even though the stone was one, the lily was a light pink, the lake more of a periwinkle, and the setting sun a deep purple with slight red accents to it. The necklace was a wonder, a priceless work of art.
I looked up at my fiancé, who smiled slightly at my stunned and wondrous expression.
"I carved it myself," he announced proudly "though I had to bully my artisans into submission beforehand; it's traditional in the Fire Nation to allow your personal carver to do it, just to show off your wealth and power. I thought that more than enough of my culture will be imposed on you, so I decided to do it your way. I chose purple because it is a medley of the colors of our nations."
Glancing down, I noticed that, despite the jewel's splendor and careful crafting, there were two tiny imperfections and uneven bits in the jewel that could not have been made by a professional craver; Zuko had indeed carved it himself. I had no idea ha had such talent! The fact that there were some blemishes was almost an assurance; Zuko was honest with me, and the tiny mistakes added a little bit of humanity to what would have otherwise been a too-perfect ornament. I shook my head in wonder, not knowing what to say. "It's so beautiful! There's just one thing I don't understand… how did you get the colors to separate in the stone?
Zuko gave a little knowing smile and warmly explained "I used firebending. It was something I discovered by accident, when I was trying to think of how to decorate your stone. I heated a ruby and the colors swirled around and contrasted. I learned how to control the shades, and then altered my design. Do you like it?"
I just nodded, and hugged him around his neck. "Zuko." I whispered in his ear "I'm scared of becoming a ruler. What if the people don't like me? What if I don't know how to be a good Fire Lady?"
He whispered back "Don't worry. I love you, and we'll go through this together, no matter what. We will prove that we can handle ruling the Fire People. You'll always be by my side, and I will always be at yours. The best possible thing right now is a Fire Lady that can be accepted into my country, that can show it what the world outside is like, and what a wonderful thing peace is. Besides, after acting like the tyrant of the gang, a group made up of the most stubborn and powerful benders in the world, for a whole year, I doubt that you'll have problems managing a pesky little thing like a nation!"
I laughed at this last remark, and gave him a little squeeze, then sat back.
"So," I asked him, a light dancing in his eyes "What's it like in this so-called great Fire nation?" My new home...