Disclaimer: the characters and places in the following work of fan-fiction are the intellectual property of Nickelodeon and, as such, they reserve the right to remove this story at their sole discretion.
Unraveling the Thread
Chapter 1: Departure
Gilded dragons danced across the surface of an otherwise unremarkable porcelain teapot, their twisting bodies glimmering in the sunlight streaming through the open window. With great care, the fragile piece of crockery was picked up from the dresser and placed into a velvet-lined box, pale fingers stroking the decorated surface briefly before confining it to darkness as the lid dropped shut.
After a short trip across polished floors, the box was nestled into a clothing-filled bag alongside an ornate box of rare teas. It was a perfect birthday gift, and Zuko couldn't help the pleased grin that lit his face when he imagined his uncle's reaction. It's as the old general always said, 'Sometimes the best things in life, are the simplest things as well'.
Checking Iroh's gift off the mental list of things to pack, Zuko moved on to the next item, which was stowed away in a drawer. He crossed the room back to the dresser and retrieved a small polished container, beautiful in its simplicity and holding a rare treasure indeed.
Snapping the clasp open as he carried it to his bag, he looked inside; partially to reassure himself that nothing had happened to the contents, but mostly just to admire it again. Upon hearing the familiar sound of silken robes rustling in the doorway, he quickly shut the ebony box, tucking it into his bag before turning to find Mai.
"You're done packing already?" he asked in surprise. Then in a more playful tone, he added, "It usually takes you hours."
The remark was clearly meant to goad her into a smile, and usually this form of teasing banter always coaxed one out of her. But this time she did not rise to the occasion. Instead, her face was a mask of detached calm.
"I'm not coming."
Zuko's brow furrowed in confusion, wondering if this was her idea of a joke…a bad joke. But he managed to keep his tone light, if clearly bewildered, as he took a hesitant step toward her.
"What do you mean you're not coming?"
"I mean," she replied in her customarily dispassionate voice. "I'm not going to Ba Sing Se with you."
"But…everyone's going to be there. All of our friends."
All your friends, she thought sadly.
It wasn't that she didn't get along with the Avatar and the others; they were actually very nice to her. In fact, whenever they got together, Sokka always made it a point to rehash in grand detail that fateful day at the Boiling Rock when Mai had saved their hides.
Sometimes though, she felt like he was only doing it to make her feel like part of the 'group'. She hadn't exactly fought on their side during the war, and it was no secret that her one act of redemption was purely for Zuko's sake and no other.
But for now, she kept these thoughts to herself, wordlessly crossing the room to the window with a quiet sigh.
"Mai," prompted Zuko seriously, his voice filled with concern as he followed behind her, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Everything," she shrugged, her voice sounding placid…and sad. "I'm not sure I know anymore."
"Is…is it something I've done?" asked Zuko meekly, "something I haven't done. I mean, I know I've been busy and-"
"It's not you, Zuko," she interrupted tiredly, finally turning to face him. "And it's not us…not really."
"Then tell me what it is," he pleaded, "and I'll fix it. I promise."
For one brief second, Mai's resolve faltered. He looked so earnest, so confused, that she almost lost the will to go through with what she came to do. She loved him; there was no denying that. But her mind had been made up, and…
"This isn't something you can fix."
If the young Fire Lord looked lost, he sounded even more so. "I don't understand."
The truth of the matter was that she didn't understand it herself. But she heaved a sigh and moved to sit down on the bed next to the bags, determined to try and put into words what had been weighing on her mind so heavily for the last few months.
"When you left the Fire Nation after the eclipse, you were doing what you knew was right for our country…for the world. But at the time, I didn't care."
"Mai…we've already been through this-"
"No, you don't understand," she interrupted unhappily. "I really didn't care. I didn't care about our country. I didn't care about the world. And all this time, I've never been able to figure out how you could care so much about something so…big and…so beyond ourselves that you would just give everything up; even me. But I think now I'm starting to get it.
"I've spent my whole life learning to be what other people expect of me; my parents…Azula." She quickly held up a hand, cutting Zuko short just as he opened his mouth to speak. "And I never bothered to question what I was doing or how it affected anyone else….or whether or not it was wrong.
"You've spent the last year trying to atone for a century of war. You've bent over backwards trying to make everyone happy because you really do care. You always have. And now, I want to see if I can care too."
"By leaving me?" he demanded incredulously. "What is that supposed to accomplish?"
She sighed once more and stood up. "I want to find something to care about that doesn't revolve around what I want; something that doesn't make me feel selfish. I need to find my own way, Zuko."
He bowed his head as he began to comprehend her intent and the motivation behind it. And he knew then that there was no amount of pleading, no token he could offer that would change her mind. This was something she had to do, and that he understood. After all, he had walked this same road once before himself.
"You aren't just leaving me," he stated quietly. "You're leaving the Fire Nation."
"Yes."
A brief moment of silence lingered between them, and then she began walking toward the door. He wanted to stop her, make her turn around and look at him one last time, but couldn't bring himself to do it by force.
"Where will you go?"
"I don't know."
"Are you coming back?"
"I don't know."
She was still moving away, and he was becoming desperate to make her stop.
"Mai!" he called just as she was about to cross the threshold, and she finally stopped. He'd run out of questions, so he blurted out, "I'll wait for you."
At last, she turned around, and he saw that now she was smiling, but it was a smile filled with the sorrow of parting and the pain of loss.
"No," she said simply. "You won't. And I don't want you to."
She gave him one last smile and then she was gone, leaving Zuko too stunned to feel anything other than a sudden but somehow familiar emptiness. He stared at the vacant door for several minutes, waiting (hoping) she would come back. But she didn't, and he realized that she wasn't going to either.
Finally taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, he somberly resumed his packing.
"You know, I really can do this by myself," Toph said as she dug through a drawer of her bureau containing an absolutely unreasonable number of brushes and combs.
One by one, she tossed them out, her mother frantically stooping to pick each of them up as they hit the floor. Despite the flustered activity however, the older woman's voice remained carefully tender as she replied.
"I know you can, dear. It's just that, you always run off in such a hurry when you go to visit your friends, I wanted to see you off properly this time."
"Ah ah!" cried Toph as she held up the object of her search, a battered silver comb that had probably been quite lovely when it was first crafted.
Lady Bei Fong looked first at her daughter, then down at the armload of unused hair accessories with dismay while Toph walked over to put the tarnished piece into her rucksack.
"Wouldn't you rather take one of these?" she offered hopefully.
"No, I like this one. And don't bother putting those back," she stated, halting her mother just as she was about to do so, "I'm never going to use them anyway."
With a defeated sigh, Mrs. Bei Fong threw her hands up, letting the combs and brushes clatter to the floor. She'd have a servant dispose of them after Toph left. Meanwhile, the blind girl was still bustling about the room, gathering up things for her journey.
Seeing her daughter's attention somewhat diverted, Mrs. Bei Fong snuck over to an armoire and rifled through it. Peeking furtively over her shoulder, she pulled out a garment and hastily stuffed it into the bag. Toph stopped rummaging trough a trunk and frowned.
"What did you just put in my bag?" she demanded.
"Nothing!"
Easily detecting the lie, Toph walked over to the bag and yanked out a length of fine silk peppered with ribbons; a dress. Her mother snatched it away with a guilty frown.
"Wanted to 'see me off properly', huh?"
"Toph," she pleaded. "Your father and I are more than willing to let you travel around with your friends. But the Bei Fongs are a well-known and respected family. All we ask is that you represent us with dignity."
Toph stopped picking wax out of her ear, sniffing curiously at the tiny bit of goo before balling it between two fingers and flicking it across the room.
"I can be dignified," she shrugged. "But I'm not wearing that dress."
Mrs. Bei Fong opened her mouth to make another appeal, but a rumbling roar from the garden outside cut her off.
"Sorry, Mom," Toph chirped, "but my ride is here."
With that, she grabbed her sack and headed for the door, her mother following behind her, dress still in hand. When they came out into the garden, Aang was already on the ground with Katara beside him.
"Hey, Toph!" called the Avatar cheerfully.
"Hey, guys!" she grinned back before stepping forward and pulling both her friends into a swift hug, "Long time, no see." Releasing them, she felt around the courtyard, listening for two more voices and hearing none.
"Where are Boomerang Boy and Fan Girl?"
"Sokka finally finished his boat, so he and Suki are sailing," explained Katara. "They'll meet us in Ba Sing Se."
"You mean it actually floats?" scoffed Toph.
"Are you kidding?" interjected Aang. "It practically flies!"
"He got a few new ideas from Teo," Katara added with a roll of her eyes.
Toph chuckled knowingly, "I gotta hand it to her, that Suki is one brave girl."
Laughing, the trio began making their way to Appa when Toph stopped suddenly and grabbed Aang by the arm.
"Oh! Did you bring it?"
"Yup!" replied Aang, removing a small bag from his shirt and handing it to her. "The board is packed on Appa."
Eagerly taking the small sack, Toph opened it and pulled out several carved Pai Sho tiles, running her fingers over each of them with a smile. She could feel the detailed images easily and her grinned broadened.
"Aang, these are awesome!"
"I thought this was supposed to be a gift for Iroh," teased Katara.
"It is a gift for him" Toph insisted as she replaced the tiles and handed the bag back to Aang. "He's always saying he wants to teach me to play, and now he'll be able to."
Feeling a little put out by her daughter's impending departure, Toph's mom spoke up hesitantly. "Would you kids like to stay and have some tea before you go?"
The three finally turned toward her, only just now aware of her presence.
"Oh, uh, no thanks," answered Aang with slight discomfort. "We really need to get moving if we're going to make it to Ba Sing Se in time for Iroh's party."
Even though the matter of Toph's 'kidnapping' the year before had finally been resolved between him and the Bei Fongs, there was still a lingering tension whenever he came to see his earth-bending teacher. Her mother was amicable enough, but Lao was typically less pleasant. The nobleman had only begrudgingly agreed to let Toph travel, and only because he realized that it was impossible to keep her contained.
Heaving a small, disappointed sigh, Mrs. Bei Fong made one last attempt at a delay.
"Are you sure you have everything you need?" she asked her daughter.
"I'm only going to be gone for a few days," Toph said in exasperation as she began to climb up into Appa's saddle.
Seeing the resigned sadness on the older woman's face, Katara leaned in and whispered reassuringly, "If she decides to stay longer, I'll write and let you know."
Then she held out her hand to take the dress, knowing that Toph would be unable to 'see' the exchange from Appa's back. Handing it over, a relieved and deeply grateful smile lit Mrs. Bei Fong's face, and she gave Katara a brief, awkward hug.
"Thank you, dear."
Katara merely returned the smile and then climbed onto Appa's back. Moments later, the group was airborne, leaving behind the Bei Fong estate and the lonely woman waving to the sky long after she could no longer see them.
Author's note: After careful consideration (and some very helpful advice from those reading my 'mock season three' series), I've decided to go ahead and start my post-war story. My original project (which will be published on FictionPress) will not be posted until my other Avatar story is complete. I think two stories are all I can handle at a time.
I would like to make it clear that, while this story picks up after the canon series, it is my intention to explore the loose ends left hanging after the finale and, as the title states, unravel them. And yes, I'm talking about romances too.
That being said, however, the romances here will not be built upon unsubstantiated secret crushes, or contrived disappointments in the people who were paired together in the finale. In this story, canon happened exactly as it was shown, with no second-guessing or speculation on the motivations of the primary characters.
There are several points to be made in this tale. One of them is that sometimes people change; they grow up and they grow apart and no one is at fault for the occurrence. Another is that people must face all the consequences of their actions…and inactions; that a person's values and ideals cannot be adhered to only when it suits their own desires. The last lesson is about learning to let go, truly let go, of the things that hold one back in life; pride, doubt, selfishness, fear, and pain.
As always, feedback is deeply appreciated, and I look forward to hearing your reactions.