Chapter 4 – The Fire Lord

"Ashina!" The Fire Lord was rudely awakened by his calm nap by his wife's shrieks. Zuko sat up straight from the couch that he had been dozing on and he rubbed his eyes. After blinking for a few seconds he remembered who he was and where he was. Zuko had been sleeping in the palace library, because it was the only place that Ashina and Mai didn't like to be. He took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair. He fixed the royal crown that sat on his head and brushed some wisps of hair out of his face. Then he heard the sound that he had been dreading.

"Zuko!" Mai had been yelling a lot more with Ashina running around. The child reminded Zuko a little bit too much of his sister. He was a little bit worried about that. Whenever the three year old spent time with him she was sweet and she would play with his hair and ask him cute questions. If left her alone would have been so bad with kids. He thought that she would have just gotten bored of Ashina or something. Zuko got up wearily from his chair and fixed his clothing. He always wondered what it was like for his uncle raising a child. He had written Iroh several letters about her over the years. His uncle always sent back satisfying advice.

"Coming Mai" He called, walking into the hall. The guards bowed to him as he went by. Sometimes Zuko wondered if he would ever get used to being the Fire Lord. He had been prepared for it his whole life, but some things still surprised him. His wife's screaming was coming from Ashina's nursery, which is where most of the yelling came from. Zuko sighed before he turned the corner and entered the room. One of Ashina's nannies had her hand in what looked like a bucket of cold water. Mai was standing in the middle of the room looking at Ashina. Zuko's daughter sat innocently on the other side of the room against the wall. One of her dolls was on the floor and its head had been ripped in half.

"What happened?" Zuko asked, while Mai began the story. Apparently, the nanny had come in to give Ashina the new doll that Uncle Iroh had sent her. Ashina had loved the doll and began playing immediately. The nanny, however, had to put her to bed for her naptime. When she tried to take the doll away from Ashina and put her in a crib, Ashina had fought for the doll and burned the lady's hand. Mai came in when she heard the woman screaming. Mai tore the doll away from Ashina and it broke. This made Ashina even more upset and she refused to have her nap. Since then, Mai had apparently been trying to get her to nap.

Zuko reviewed the situation and first he moved to Mai. He put his hands on her shoulders and calmed her down. Mai turned to him and looked like she was almost at tears. He nodded silently to her and she gave him a big hug. He whispered in her ear and told her he would deal with it. She left the room dejectedly and he knew he would talk to her after Ashina was in bed. After asking the nanny to leave, Zuko turned to Ashina, who turned to the side and sat on the ground.

"Ashina" Zuko said softly, but he was immediately cut off by his daughter.

"She broke it. She wanted to take Lili away. I no sleep." Zuko knew that this would take patience. He found that Ashina always had a good point, even for a three year old. He had found that she was a very intelligent. It made him afraid that she would end up like Azula, so Zuko tried to show her a lot of love. He simply wished that Mai could be equally as patient.

"She just wanted you to take a nap, Ash," He knew that she loved her nickname. "You won't have any energy to play with Dad if you don't nap. Look, Ash. I need you to stop playing with fire. You hurt that woman today and she was only trying to help you. Fire can be dangerous and you shouldn't use it until you're ready. Promise me you'll take a nap and I will read you Uncle Iroh's letter when you wake up. I will also write him to send you a new doll. How does that sound?" After this coaxing Ashina finally got into her bed. Zuko looked at her with affection. He never thought of it as her fault. It was all a misunderstanding. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he was starting to think like Aang. He left her door open a crack so that Ashina wouldn't get scared. Then he walked down the hallway to his bedroom, where he knew Mai was waiting. As he opened the door, he saw her sitting on the bed with a towel on her face. She looked up and Zuko saw that she had been crying. She looked away from him.

"How do you do it?" She asked her voice sounding chocked. "Why does she listen to you so well? No matter what I ask her to do she always says no. No mom! No!" When she started to raise her voice, Zuko sat down next to her and put his large muscular arms around her. Him and Mai had had this conversation before, he hoped that she would learn something this time.

"You just have to talk to her, Mai" He said simply. "I think she just feels like you're ordering her too much. She's not just some servant who is forced to obey you. Force is not the way to get through to her. I think you just need to spend more time with her." After 8 years of becoming great friends with the Avatar, Zuko's social skills had improved a lot. He knew that Mai struggled with children, but she could be friends.

"Why does she love you more than me?" Mai asked, almost crying again. Zuko shook his head and wiped away her tears. He looked straight into her eyes and frowned.

"She still loves you Mai," He whispered. "She just thinks that you don't love her." This problem had been going on with Mai and Ashina ever since Ashina's had been able to talk and walk. She wanted to spend a lot of time with Zuko and it drove Mai a little crazy. She seemed to think that Ashina loved Zuko more. However, Ashina had asked Zuko many times "Why does mommy not like me?" He knew they just needed to communicate.

Zuko and Mai talked on like this until he had calmed her down and convinced her of her daughters love. She almost smiled at him and decided that she wanted to take a nap and then have a bath. Zuko told her to do that and he left to room to find solitude. He had never thought that having a family could be so crazy. It was almost his birthday too and he felt so much older. He had also started to grow a bit of a beard, but knew that Mai would make him shave it for the party. He hoped that his Uncle could make it back in time. He had told Aang about it months ago, but he assumed that his friend was too busy with rebuilding the temples.

Zuko went out on one of the many palace balconies. From there he could see the whole royal city. The street bustled with people. Now that he was the Fire Lord and not just the Prince it was even harder for him to go into town. He always loved taking Ashina; there was so much for her to see. He loved her so much and knew that Mai did too; they just had to work some things out. As he stared out in the city Zuko saw a big crowd beginning to gather on the far side of the city. He thought it might be a parade in his honour or something, but it got closer and he realized there were no floats. Suddenly something flew up from the group of specks, which were getting steadily closer. It got bigger and bigger before Zuko finally recognized it. Momo flew at him on the balcony and made him want to jump out his skin. That meant that Aang was here.

Zuko ran through the palace at top speed, Momo flying behind him. He stopped at his bedroom and he abruptly opened the door, calling for Mai to wake up and greet the Avatar. She got up wearily and Zuko got some servants to help her with her hair. Then they both ran through the palace and they even took one of the secret passageways. The Fire Lord and Lady appeared in their entrance hall looking a little bit dishevelled. Irritatingly, Momo landed on Zuko's shoulder and started grooming his fur. Zuko wanted to shake him off, but then decided not to. The servants opened the giant Fire Palace entrance doors and The Fire Lord and Lady walked out to greet their party.

It was a beautifully sunny day outside. Zuko saw that their friends had already reached the gates, which were being opened for them. Once open, the party sped forwards and came into Zuko's view. In the front were Iroh and Toph, who both looked like they were talking about something intelligent. Directly behind Toph was a man that Zuko had never seen before, but he looked confused by their conversation. A little bit behind them and in front of their huge flying bison, Aang and Katara held hands as they walked. Sitting on Aang's back, Zuko saw Suki and Sokka. He also saw Suki's condition and he smiled over at Mai, who was cleaning her nails. Zuko was happy to see her back to normal. Behind Appa, Sokka's crew were walking. They looked around amazed at the palace. None of them had been to the Fire Nation before. Once they reached the steps of the palace the whole party stopped and Aang wandered to the front. Zuko spoke first.

"Avatar Aang," he said, formally. He kept his face completely serious. Aang smiled at him and then attempted a serious face.

"Fire Lord Zuko," He said, his voice wavering with a laugh. Zuko never knew Aang to keep a straight face. His face, however, never wavered with its expression. He looked down at his friend and said with complete seriousness.

"I believe I have found your lemur," He said, looking a Momo who sat on his shoulders. Everyone in the courtyard started to laugh with Aang. The Avatar pulled Zuko into a hug and Zuko knew that he would have an exciting birthday.