The Fire Lord's Bride

Part Two: History

Zuko felt his eyes glazing over. He did not need this. He had studied the war histories of his people. He had studied the economic histories of his people. He had studied the political histories of his people. He had studied every type of history his people had ever bothered to record. Well, all but one. The history of the reigning Fire Lady's was something he had not bothered to learn, except in respect to the political role they played during their times.

He was learning it now though.

"And so, we come to the conclusion that all Fire Lady's have been born of nobility, most have been born of the Fire Nation, with only four inconsequential exceptions, and all have the social skills and connections a woman needs to aid her husband in ruling the Fire Nation. This is the criteria by which all of your potential consorts must be judged," Councilman Lao concluded. It could not be more obvious that he was implying his daughter met all of the above criteria and would make an excellent Fire Lady. Too bad Zuko knew for a fact she was having a love affair with a well to do merchant, as he had discovered on last night's jaunt through the shadowed streets of his capital.

He barely hid a yawn; he hadn't been getting much sleep. Between fending off would-be-brides, trying to work with the political climate to do what was right for the world and what was best for his land, and roaming the streets each night as a masked vigilante to ferret out plots and stop crime, Zuko was severely lacking in sleep. He was tired, and Lao's unending history lesson was not helping keep him awake. He'd been on this 'history of the Fire Lady' crusade for over a week, ever since Katara's arrival at the gala.

Iroh, who'd been visiting for the last few days, coughed. It was not a polite, attention getting cough, it was rough and deep. Zuko had tried to talk his uncle into seeing a healer, but he always refused. Tea would help, Iroh claimed. The tea, however, did not seem to be working. He still wheezed, and his chest still rattled.

"You contradict yourself, Councilman Lao," Councilman Tsun said, filling the awkward silence filled by Iroh's pained coughed. "We cannot judge the future Fire Lady on her land of origin; you have stated that some have come from other lands. We cannot judge our Lord's consort by that criteria. Further, I would argue that it would benefit our land greatly for the Fire Lord to marry outside of the Fire Nation. It would lessen the war reparations from that land, solidify an alliance, any number of things."

"I would make us look desperate, like the Fire Lord needs to marry a foreign woman because of those very factors!" Lao argued.

"We are desperate," Tsun replied. "We are indebted to everyone because of the war. We have done significant damage all throughout the Earth Kingdom, and we have devastated the Southern Water Tribe, and have nothing with which to pay them. The only people we do not need to pay reparations to are the Kyoshi warriors, and that is because they changed their demands and requested soldiers for the period of one year to help them rebuild the destroyed lands after the Fire Lord released their warriors.

"The deal with have worked out with the Northern Water Tribe will last for three more years, so we cannot even dream of making a profit from that trade route until that time. Further, many of our soldiers are restoring the Air Temples as payment to the Air Nomads while Avatar Aang searches for remnants of his people. To all others we owe too much."

Iroh coughed again, lightly touched his temple and looked up under hooded eyes. "Both make excellent points. The question now becomes this—do we sacrifice our pride and wed our Lord to a woman from another land," he wheezed, "or do we marry him to a Fire Nation woman, allowing us to keep our pride but possibly damaging foreign relations?"

The squabbling broke out again. Lao was talking about Earth Kingdom women being tolerable, but the people of the Fire Nation would not suffer a Water Tribe woman as Fire Lady. Uncle was arguing vehemently against his assertions, and Tsun was chastising Lao's manners. Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose, sighed, then stood. The torches that lit the chamber roared to life, silencing the room.

"I am aware," Zuko stated firmly, "of the history of my people, Councilman Lao, or do you think me so ill prepared to rule this land?" Lao sputtered. "Spare me your indignation. You have wasted enough time discussing matters that do not concern you. We are here to discuss the payment of War Reparations, owed by the Fire Nation to the other kingdoms because of heinous crimes enacted by my forefathers. This matter will be remedied, Councilmen. Is that understood?"

There was a stunned silence before everyone nodded. Iroh looked on, pleased, and leaned back in his chair.

Zuko sat down again. "Now, what solutions do you propose?"

Lao perked up. "Paying their demands as they stand is implausible. Perhaps it would be wise to send an arbiter to the Earth Kingdom, or the Southern Water Tribe, to negotiate on behalf of our nation. Perhaps lower our debts, or work out a payment plan. Perhaps Master Waterbender Katara would be willing to speak on our behalf—"

"You are grasping at straws, I think," Iroh commented. His voice was soft, so everyone, even Lao, quieted to hear him. "Katara is a sweet girl, and she would love to help Fire Lord Zuko in any way that she can, but she is not a citizen of the Fire Nation, nor is she the Avatar. We cannot ask her to speak on our behalf. Unless, of course, she married into the Fire Nation. I hear Admiral Jee is looking for a wife."

That made Zuko very uncomfortable. He scowled. He liked Jee, had promoted him to Admiral, but the idea of him marrying Katara set his teeth on edge.

"You might want to control those flames, Fire Lord Zuko," Iroh commented, his tone light despite his gravely voice. "You may also want to have that part stricken from the records—we are making history, Nephew, and I don't think you want your future descendants snickering over your antics at the idea of Katara marrying another man."

"That's not why I'm angry," Zuko snapped. He turned to Lao, thinking up a quick lie. "The more you talk, Councilman Lao, the more I believe I should have you removed from your seat. All you've done is wax lyrical about the Fire Nation at the expense of the other kingdoms. You have stated that my people would not suffer a Water Tribe woman as Fire Lady, implying that the people of water are inferior in some way. This is both untrue and insulting.

"I have tired of your pathetic recommendations and flawed thinking. You have tried to wheedle power through your daughter long enough, I think. You have undermined your Fire Lord, and you have undermined the purpose of this council. Worse, you have undermined your honor. There is no place for a man with no honor among my council. Take your leave, Lao, and do not return."

The man stood, stricken, and walked out of the room, face white.

"Well, now that that matter has been taken care of, recommendations?"

—

"So I hear you made history today."

Zuko groaned. "Has Uncle been talking to you?" He didn't look up, choosing to look at the ripples in the turtleduck pond.

Katara came up from behind and sat beside him. She reached out and stroked one of the turtleducks. "Actually, no. Everyone else has, but not him. He's been suspiciously quiet, and quite obstinate about not letting me look him over with my Waterbending. That cough has me worried, but he keeps waving me off. It wasn't this bad the last few times I saw him. He said it was just the pollen in the air affecting his sinuses. I can't believe I believed him."

"Frustrating, isn't it?" Zuko remarked. "I'm thinking about ordering him to see a Healer, but I don't think it will work."

Katara nodded in sympathy. "He's a stubborn man. If he won't let me near him, then I don't think your other Healers are going to have any luck either. It's worth a try, I guess." Her tone suggested she did not think it would work.

"Not really," Zuko replied.

"I suppose you're right. He's even more stubborn than you are," she said impishly.

"Ha ha, you are so funny. Hmm."

"What's wrong? Anything I can do to help?"

Zuko sighed. "We've worked out ways to pay our debt to the Northern Water Tribe and the Air Nomads, and we have paid off the Kyoshi warriors, but there doesn't seem to be a way to pay back your Tribe or the Earth Kingdoms anytime soon. We just don't have the resources."

"Oh I don't know about that. You have salt mines, don't you?"

He made a face. "Yes. They haven't been touched in a long time. We favor spices."

Katara made a face this time. "Believe me, I know. But salt is invaluable to the Water Tribe. We use it preserve food. It's used in the Earth Kingdom too, to a lesser extent. If you were to send a few wooden ships—not those metal monstrosities you seem to like so much—to the Water Tribe as payment, and put a few shipments of salt on one of those ships, why, I should think it would cover most of your debt." She caught Zuko's look and shrugged. "My people have always favored goods over money. Dad just asked for money because he wanted to use it to buy resources to build ships and salt. But this way—"

"I could provide jobs for my people in mining and ship building, keep money in my country, and pay off at least some of my debt! I could even use it to trade with the Earth Kingdom and the Northern Water Tribe and get a little bit of revenue. Katara you're a genius. I could kiss you!"

"I'd rather you didn't," she laughed. "I don't want Mai to put a knife in my back or something."

"She wouldn't do that," Zuko grinned. "She'd make sure you knew she was there."

"Fine, I don't want her to put a knife in my chest. I'll be just as dead either way, so I don't see how it matters. We don't exactly have the best history between us you know."

Zuko gave her a mock affronted look. "Haven't you been paying attention? Killing you from behind would bring her honor into question."

Katara rolled her eyes with affectionate exasperation. "Oh, how could I ever question her honor."

He smirked for a moment, then frowned as a thought occurred to him. "Katara, have you been doing this from the start?"

"Doing what?"

"Helping with the reparations. Kyoshi originally asked for money, then changed their minds and asked for soldiers to help rebuild. It was the same in the north, with the trade," Zuko explained.

"Sort of? I mean, I was on Kyoshi with Suki and Sokka, helping there, and I made a comment about needing a hundred more people to help with the effort. Suki said something about making your soldiers do it since they caused the damage to begin with. That's how it started. It gave me the idea and we took it to the village elders. Aang liked it too, especially since he wanted the Temples restored but he didn't want to rob you. He figured it was a fair trade. And Sokka actually did everything in the Northern Water Tribe. He tried to get you a better deal but, well, Zhao did kill the moon spirit, and the Chief's daughter did have to give her life up to take Tui's place."

"And now you're helping me with your people. You're too good to me, Katara."

Katara shrugged. "History teaches lessons to those willing to learn. I've learned that contempt breeds resentment. Bankrupting the Fire Nation will not solve anything, may even cause more problems in the future. Besides, I like it here," she confessed, her cheeks warming at the admission. "It's a beautiful land, and I get along with pretty much everyone, expansion-enthusiasts aside, I mean."

Zuko smiled. "I'm glad you see it too. Most don't. They just see what the Fire Nation has been for the last century, and they forget what it was like before that. I want to reclaim the Fire Nation of old, make it as beautiful now as it was then."

"You will," Katara told him softly. "It might be easier, mind, if you gave up your nightly escapades. There are other, easier ways to gather information."

Zuko gave her a sharp look. "Aang told you."

She nodded. "He let it slip some months ago. Toph made a few cracks about the Blue Spirit and the Painted Lady. It was worse than those tearbending lines. Painted Spirit Babies, indeed."

"Painted Lady? From the Jang Hui village?"

"Yeah, she's my alter ego. Sort of. She's real. I just sort of…borrowed…her name. Sort of."

"Sort of?" He asked, amused.

"Yes, sort of. I helped the village out and they thought I was her, so I stuck around for a few days, stole some food for them, healed them, destroyed the factory, cleaned up the river, things like that."

"That was nice, wait, you destroyed a factory?"

"Ancient history," she said quickly. "And it really was for the best."

Zuko considered the matter. "It was," he agreed. "The Jang Hui village stands out in all of my reports because it has been more productive in the last several years than most others, and has the lowest number of reported illness related deaths." He chuckled. "You've already done so much for my people, Katara, more than any of those noble ladies they want me to marry, and you have no reason at all to help us."

"Well, you'll notice I sabotaged your military every chance I got. The war hurt your people too. I don't think the others realize that. I admit, I didn't realize it either until I actually saw it. They didn't see it, so I guess they couldn't know, but with all of the traveling I did, well, it would be hard not to see the damage to the outer districts. I just wanted to help."

Zuko impulsively pulled her into a tight embrace, which she unhesitatingly returned. He held her close, relishing her warmth. "Thank you," he said, voice hoarse. "Thank you for caring about my people." They stayed that way for a long time, just enjoying the cool breeze, the quacking turtleducks, and each other's company and warmth.

A cough drew their attention.

They sprang apart and found Aang, Toph and Iroh looking at them.

Iroh cleared his throat. "We thought you might like to know dinner has been prepared." He seemed amused at their plight. Instead of helping them, he grinned and walked back inside.

"This doesn't prove anything," the monk huffed at Toph, turning and following Iroh back inside. "You haven't won anything."

Toph looked incredibly smug and followed, a slight swagger in her step. "I was right and you know it, Twinkle Toes! You owe me big!"

Katara sighed. "That's it. I'm dead. They're going to tell Mai, and she's going to kill me. I'm officially history. Hey, will you take my mother's necklace and put it in a museum or something? It will be an impressive relic of the Master Waterbender who was taken out by a knife because her friends have terrible timing."

Zuko did the only thing he could do—he laughed.

As I forget to write in chapter one, all standard disclaimers apply. The Avatar world belongs to Bryke/Nickelodeon.

This prompt was hard to meet. I wanted to touch on history, but not dwell on it, and I wanted to inform the other characters of things that had happened in the past, without replaying the events in their entirety and boring you…such a fine line to walk. Also, there is sort of a real historical reference in there.

Up next, Social Networking, which, oddly enough, was the first prompt I figured out what to write.