Peasant & Noble

When she first arrived in the Capital, and saw what Prince Zuko's life was like, Suki made one promise to herself, and vowed that it would not be broken under any circumstances.

She would never let herself even consider the idea that she couldn't handle it.

Even if that meant dressing up and going to a fancy party.

It's not that Suki was antisocial, or 'stubbornly independent' in a way that meant she couldn't deal with polite society. She was actually quite capable of enjoying the company of strangers, and had no problem learning manners that only rich people cared about. Zuko, though, wasn't making it sound like a simple night of dancing and boring talk.

"Oh, and don't eat anything," he said as they approached the main ballroom.

"Why, is it impolite for peasants to eat in front of nobles?"

He threw her a confused look. "No. That's- that's a strange idea. It's just that the food might be poisoned. The idea is that the really important people are expected to have lot of friends and allies, and the lowest ranking of them are supposed to eat first and take the biggest risk. It goes in order, all the way up to the leader of the group, until enough dishes have been tested that the leader doesn't need to worry about being poisoned. The less connected you are, the less you can explore the menu, and the more risk you have to accept. I don't usually eat at these things, but you probably figured that out already. And there's always a poisoning."

Suki froze in her tracks. After a few moments, her eyes started to burn and water, and she realized she had stopped blinking. "You're joking."

Zuko frowned. "I tried joking, once," he said. "It didn't really work out."

Ten minutes later, they joined the main gathering. A century ago, the Fire Nation's Royal Palace had resembled a temple more than a den of luxury, but a 'disagreement' between Avatar Roku and his old friend, Fire Lord Sozin, about some seized Earth Kingdom territory had resulted in a fair amount of structural damage. During the rebuilding, Sozin decided to turn his life around, and dedicated himself to more subtle methods of conquest. The first major sign of this was a palace rebuilt to be seen and admired, with the centerpiece being a massive ballroom that could host the entire Capital City. It had proved to be a much more efficient path, eventually leading to the rise of a Fire Nation 'Outer Queen' over the Earth Kingdom.

Of course, Suki well knew that shmoozing and politics only went so far in the Fire Nation, even if no one could prove anything about what happened to the Air Nomads. The Roku Warrior had a knife hidden in each of her boots, and a pair of nunchaku tied to each forearm within her sleeves.

Gazing around at all the attendees, Suki couldn't help but wonder if she should have just brought some blasting jelly. "So, how many of these people will be testing the food for your sister?"

Zuko sighed. He stayed pressed up against her side as they navigated the crowd, and whispered just loud enough for her to fear. "For all I know, the whole room could be on her team. She's always been more popular with both the nobles and the military commanders. I've never really understood. I tried reviewing our operations against the Water Tribes, and even wrote some letters about ways I found to keep our troopers safer without losing any strategic advantages, but they just seemed to get offended. One even walked away from me when I tried to start a conversation. I'm sure he sent the assassin who attacked me that night." He gave a small laugh. "That's pretty much how everything I do ends. If it weren't for Uncle-"

"All right, just stop it."

"What?"

Suki kept her glare on the Prince, but wasn't unaware of all the people around them and the way their attention had been peaked by the sharpness of her tone. Stupid. She should have known better than to speak like that. Forcing her anger down, she turned a fake smile on Zuko and leaned forward in something resembling a playful manner. "We can worry about talking to people later. Let's go dance first! I've been looking forward to this for a week!"

Zuko blinked once. Twice. Three four five in rapid success. "O- kay," he managed. "This way." He led Suki to the far side of the ballroom, where a space had been cleared in front of the musicians. Couples were enjoying an upbeat number, and one cluster of five young men had formed a dancing circle that was keeping them all laughing. "Do you know this one? If not, I can-"

Suki grabbed his hands, and planted them on her hips. Zuko's face immediately went bright red. "Yes," she said as she put her arms around his shoulders and took the proper dance. "I'm a girl. I know we haven't been friends that long, but it's something you'll need to get used to, quickly. But keep the hands on the hips. A little higher is okay, but lower is not."

Zuko nodded like he was taking a Firebending lesson from his uncle. Together, they flicked themselves into the motion of the dance, whirling across the dance floor. As they moved, Suki leaned forward so that their faces were uncomfortably close. "I know you have it hard," she whispered, "but you cannot let your failures get the best of you. The only thing you can do is keep trying."

His own answer came back as a soft growl that was almost lost in the music. "I know that! I wouldn't be alive today if I had it in me to give up."

She met his gaze, and rubbed a hand against the back of his neck in a soothing gesture. "I believe you. A weak person would have never written those letters." Letters that showed he was looking out for the common soldier. Very intriguing. "But there's enough trouble out there for you, without testing yourself with your own negativity. Don't focus on what didn't work. Focus on what you're going to do next, and how you can build on the successes that you've had."

He gave a little snort. "So you're just going to march into my life and fix it with a new perspective and some encouraging words?"

"No." The hand that had been rubbing him now flicked him. "That's what we're going to do for each other. I'm expecting that you'll have to give me this same talk in about a month. I promise you that I'll try to keep you gazing towards the sun. Can you do the same for me?"

His hands might have shifted a little lower, but then again, maybe not. "All right," he said. "But let's still avoid the buffet table."

"I wasn't hungry, anyway."


People didn't often say good things about Prince Zuko, but that night, they acknowledged his taste in friends. The girl and he looked like a natural fit, standing next to each other. Some of the smarter observers wondered if it went beyond a superficial level.

TO BE CONTINUED...