The next day Zuko was in the final part of the war meeting, which meant it was probably going to last another two days before he got a break. The meeting so far seemed to go as the others had, which meant nothing much was getting accomplished.
He had thought about what Mai said, about getting them to listen and respect him. He hadn't exactly tried it though. It probably wouldn't even work. She made it sound so easy, but he knew it wouldn't be. Nothing ever was.
He really wished his uncle were here. He'd know what to do. Uncle always had all the answers. He wouldn't be happy here though. That's why Iroh opened a teashop in Ba Sing Se, and not the Fire Nation. For some reason Zuko couldn't even fathom, Uncle found peace in that city, which was so far away from the young Firelord and his current troubles.
Currently, General Zho was giving Zuko the most problems. He seemed to be the most opinionated out of the group of middle-aged men. Zuko was so close to blasting the guy out of the war room, but was able to control himself.
"General, I'm suggesting remove the troops from Paquin Bay. The Earth King has shown concern over that specific naval base." Before Zuko could continue his proposal, General Zho interrupted.
"We had naval bases in the Earth Kingdom before the war, Firelord. I don't see why we should give up one of our bases to the Earth King."
"I'm aware of that. But-" Zuko was cut off, yet again.
"Then why should remove the troops? It just doesn't seem to make sense to me," the General obnoxiously stated. Mutters could be heard throughout the group of officials.
Zuko was tired of this. He sighed and clenched his fist as the flames surrounding his throne grew. He gave in and decided to test out Mai's approach.
"Maybe if you would quit interrupting me, General, you would be able to hear my point. I'm the Firelord, and it is your duty as a citizen of the Fire Nation to listen to what I have to say and respect my opinion. I've been lenient with you this whole week. If you have something to say, you wait until I'm done speaking. If you decide otherwise, there will be a punishment. Do you understand, General?"
Everyone seemed to be taken aback by the Firelord's sudden outburst. No one had expected it. The young Firelord seemed timid throughout the whole meeting. Some of the politicians welcomed this sudden change. It showed the new Firelord had a spine. Others, including General Zho, were displeased. They of course didn't say anything for fear of the Firelord's "punishment".
"Now as I was saying, the Earth King sent a delegate over to observe the base and the nearby town. He reported that the town is still suffering from the Fire Nation presence. The naval base wasn't established until about sixty years after the war started. The area used to be a prime trading center for the upper class. Once the naval base was established, the area became too risky for nobles to trade there." Zuko couldn't believe it. He was able to get in that whole speech without being interrupted. What surprised Zuko more, was that some of the politicians were agreeing with him. Of course, most of them still weren't reassured that the Firelord had the Fire Nation's best interest at heart, but they didn't interrupt and only voiced their opinions every once in a while.
For the most part the meeting had gone smoothly. It even ended two hours before they normally would've called it a night. Zuko looked amongst the crowd of officials, one face caught his attention in particular. Zuko stepped off the throne and approached the person as they were getting ready to leave the room.
"Governor, I hope you don't mind staying a little longer for some tea. I'd like to talk with you," Zuko said to the man he knew as Mai's father, the previous Governor of Omashu.
The governor bowed to Zuko. "Of course, Firelord Zuko."
Zuko sat down at the long table beckoning the man to sit across from him, as a servant came out with a pot of tea and two cups, setting the tray down between the two.
"How do you think the meeting went today?" Zuko asked.
The Governor took a sip of his tea. He seemed hesitant to answer.
"I promise Governor, nothing you say will be held against you," Zuko reassured him.
"I thought it went well. Certainly got more done today than we have been all week," the Governor finally replied. He still seemed a little stiff. Zuko should've known this would happen. He knew Mai's family had always been worried about holding their political and not doing anything that could possibly ruin it.
"We have." Zuko sipped his tea before continuing with a smile. "I believe we have your daughter to thank for that."
The Governor seemed to almost drop his tea at that. He quickly set it down before spilling any. "Really? And why so?" he asked curiously.
"Last night after the meeting, she came into my study and we had a…discussion. She suggested I make the officials, like General Zho, understand. It was surprisingly quite helpful." That reminded Zuko that he would have to thank her for that later.
"I hope she didn't disrespect you in any way my Lord." The Governor seemed to completely ignore the fact that what his daughter had said was apparently helpful.
Zuko shook his head. "No, of course not."
The Governor finally seemed to relax a little at this. "So, what exactly did she say to you, if you don't mind me asking?"
The Firelord took another sip of his tea. "She told me I needed to be more confident. She told me that I needed to make the officials respect and listen to me." He paused and set his tea down. "You have a very smart daughter, Governor."
Something happened that Zuko didn't think would happen this whole conversation. The Governor smiled. "Thank you, Firelord. She was always bright, even at a very young age. I'm happy to see she's grown up well."
Zuko's smiled faded. He remembered there was something else he needed to discuss with the politician. "I do have a question for you though, and I want the complete truth. How is my popularity among the Fire Nation? Nobody has given me a report on it yet."
The smile faded from the Governor as well. "Well…among the commoners, its about average. They've always had an indifference to the government. As long as the economy remains stable, most of them are satisfied. Of course there are a good number that favored the war, but overall it's probably the best it could be with a major war like this ending."
"And what about the upper-class?"
The Governor sighed. "You must remember these opinions are not that of my own."
Zuko nodded, "Of course."
"Most of the upper-class is not pleased. A good number fought in the war and won great victories, and believe they now won those victories for nothing. Most of those displeased with you are going to be the high-ranking officers. We politicians of course aren't going to have that same emotional attachment. Yes, we've ruled colonies and dealt with the economy, but we didn't physically fight for anything. I've spoken with a few who support your decision. It's a difficult concept to grasp though. We've been taught our whole lives that war was the right thing. Even my daughter had to explain to me about how this is keeping balance in the world. In time, most of them will understand. Of course there's always going to be the few who'll still disagree. There always will be. That's just their nature."
"Do you think there is any possibility of a rebellion from them?"
The Governor shifted his eyes to the side. "Not anytime soon, but…there is a small possibility sometime in the future. I couldn't say when, but I've heard some talk. That's probably all it is though, talk. The chances any of them actually taking action are very small."
Zuko inhaled deeply. He knew there was discussion going on, but he needed to hear it from someone else. For some strange reason, the Governor's words provided comfort. He needed to talk with someone who's had experience in politics, and with his uncle gone, Zuko had no one to go to. At least now he found someone older and wiser than himself who could provide him with some information. At least until Zuko visited his Uncle in Ba Sing Se.
Zuko stood up. "Thank you very much, Governor. This was…nice," he said for lack of better words.
The Governor bowed in respect and stood up also. "I enjoyed this very much my Lord. I hope we get another opportunity like this."
Zuko smiled. "Governor, there is something else I'd like to ask before you leave…"
--
Zuko took a nice, hot shower and dressed more casually before he treaded over to his old room. He didn't need his royal Fire Nation garb on right now. Zuko was kind of nervous though, as he approached the front doors. She was probably still mad at him. He'd have to try though. He knocked on the doors a lot harsher than he meant, out of uneasiness.
He didn't get any response, so he knocked again.
"Hold on, I'll be there in a second," he heard the familiar annoyed voice of his girlfriend beyond the door. Followed by some equally annoyed muttering he couldn't make out.
Finally the door opened to a somewhat agitated looking Mai, whose features softened somewhat when she saw him. It was obvious to Zuko that she was getting ready for bed.
Mai was the first one to say something. "Can I help you?"
Zuko snapped out of his daze. "Um, do you mind if I come in?" he asked stupidly.
She opened the door wider and allowed him admittance to the room, closing it behind her as he completely entered. "You aren't going to snap at me again are you?" she asked crossing her arms.
Zuko rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, um…I'm sorry about that Mai. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. And you were right."
Mai raised her eyebrows. He could tell she was growing increasingly satisfied with this conversation. "Right about what?"
Zuko shrugged. "About the whole getting the politicians to respect me and everything. I decided to try it and it worked."
Mai smirked. "And now you know your girlfriend does know something, and that you should consider that what she has to say might actually be helpful?"
"Yeah." Zuko paused and moved closer until he was standing right in front of her. "So…do you forgive me?"
Mai placed her hand on the right side of his face, caressing his cheek with her thumb. "I guess. I forgot how dense you could be sometimes."
Zuko scowled at the comment. He appreciated her honesty. That's what made her different from everyone else, but it still had a tendency to agitate him.
His annoyance quickly dissipated when he felt her lips on his. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer, with one hand on the small of her back and the other wrapped around her shoulders, playing with the loose hair hanging down. He didn't realized how much he missed her until now. Her mouth opened to allow access to his tongue as she pressed her mouth harder against his. He moaned softly. He missed this a lot.
Suddenly, she pulled away, with a smile on her face. He liked her smile, but he liked her kiss more. He had a confused look on his face. She grabbed a fistful of his shirt in her hand, and spun him around. What was she doing?
Suddenly Mai pushed him down. He landed on her bed, with Mai situated on top as she proceeded kissing him. Her hands tugging at his shirt in an attempt to get it off.
Apparently, she missed him too.
After a long time of procrastinating IT'S FINISHED!! I've also taken a liking to Mai's father (no, not in the romantic way :P). He seems like a pretty cool guy, at least how I write him.
Um...new chapter, this week or next. I'll try this week cause after next week school starts, and I won't be able to write much with that and volleyball. Stupid school...stupid volleyball...stupid movement class. WHAT THE HECK IS MOVEMENT?! I DIDN'T EVEN SIGN UP FOR IT!!
To my reviewers: Thank you...for being you.