Sunrise and Hope
Chapter VI: Preparing for Hakoda
By Hesse Cassel
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. All rights belong to the creators and Nick
Author Notes: Thank you for reading and reviewing. I do know that I am moving fast in regards to romance, but I have never wrote a fic like this before and it's a joy to write.
Zuko was sitting in his study, looking over some figures about trade with the South Pole. It was not the easiest reading, but his duty said he had to do it for the good people of the Fire Nation. Sure, they had been defeated, but they trusted Zuko, at least for now. His chief advisor, Pyro walked in and bowed as one should to the Fire Lord. Pyro had been a trustworthy man, because he was honest and tried to know the whims and wishes of both the leader and the people, though he had trouble balancing both, but he tried and had earned the trust of Zuko before the crowning.
Zuko looked up when he had heard footsteps. He had a look of a man who was up to the burden, but he was in a good mood. He smiled and said, "Pyro, it's so good of you to come in. How do you see we gain those trade rights?" Zuko did make decisions with confidence in his first days, but he had recognized that Pyro was a good confidant and one person he trusted alongside his uncle, his nobles, and the rest of the Gaang. Zuko continued on speaking, saying, "I feel that our industrial complex can make coal and fire that the tribe could use, but this meeting has to go well, and not just because we need to help out our manufacturing, but because of…"
Katara was walking in; unaware that Zuko was in a private meeting. She was getting used to dating the Fire Lord, but she was still learning that Zuko had a different schedule each day. She was walking in to see if Zuko needed any help with anything. She walked in and smiled. "Hello, my love can I… oh, I'm so sorry." Zuko was furious. This was an important time in his life preparing for the week he needed to have everything go so well. "Katara, I am in the middle of a meeting! Look, I am glad you are helping, but now is not a good time. I'm stressed out!" And then Katara looked around and she got angry. "I thought you said you cared about me. And now you yell at me!?" She stormed out and started crying. Zuko then realized that he had snapped. He had let his emotions get out of control. He knew he had to do the right thing. "Excuse me Pyro." He ran out and found Katara crying her eyes out. Katara saw her new boyfriend and turned away. "Go away! Go back to your work. I'm not some helpless person." Zuko looked down. "Katara, I know you are mad with me, and with good reason. I behaved like a jerk in there and I should have made clear that I was busy. I try and spend time with you and show that I am a worthy boyfriend. This is a hard time for me, because I have to negotiate with people who are wary of my motives, and trying to convince your father that I will protect you. I wish I could spend all day with you, but I can't. Look, if you don't want to forgive me, I understand." And he started back to his study, thinking to himself that he blew his chance and that he could never control his emotions. Katara was still mad, but she realized that Zuko was right in part. This is his job and she should know better. She ran up and put her hand on Zuko's shoulder.
"Look Zuko. I'm sorry about coming in. I know that this is a new period for us, because we are now in a relationship and you are trying to juggle a million things at once. But you should know that I don't enjoy being yelled at and that I need to have some time with you as your girlfriend." Zuko turned around. "No Katara I am to blame. I still can't control my emotions as well as I would like. I shouldn't schedule so much in a week, but I'm learning too. I should be clear that I value your advice and that you have my ear, but this meeting was private and I can't allow spies in. I hope we can work something out, but we were talking about how to get more trade with your homeland. What do your people need?"
Katara smiled and gave him a kiss. "Well, I do know that we are a peaceful people and I can help you out on Dad. We do value more hunting tools and boats." Zuko smiled. "Thanks for that info. I really am sorry but we're fine, right?" Katara smiled. "Of course Zuko, don't worry about that." Zuko was relieved. "Good. Are you ready to head back and I 'll let you sit in and then we can go and eat." And the lovers took each other's hands and walked back to the study. Pyro smiled and shook his head. "What was that about my Lord?" Zuko smiled and glanced up and pointed to the spirits for help. "Pyro, I would like to introduce you to my girl, Lady Katara of the Southern Water Tribe. Which is why I'm concerned about this meeting because she is the daughter of Chief Hakoda. She can help us understand what exactly we can do to earn his trust. Katara, this is Pyro. He is my right hand man and I trust him." Pyro was bewildered. Here we have the Fire Lord dating outside the nation, which would be hard to imagine because this has never happened in our nation's history. He bit his tongue and bowed. "It's quite an honor to meet you Lady Katara. I am pleased that we can use your advice and practical experience to better both our cultures. " Katara was awestruck, because she thought that she and Zuko would have to try and force people to accept that they could be together despite different upbringings, but this was easier than she imagined.
"Ok, I understand that coal would be useful, but coal still is a scary thing because our people have seen coal as the instrument of the enemy, which I get that you guys are different, but the Southren Water Tribe just needs to have open trade avenues and no more raids." Both men were dumbstruck at their ignorance. That was a central trait of the Fire Nation as they had tried to play the whole master race thing.
After the meeting and troop reviews, Zuko was ready for the best part of his day. He changed into more comfortable robes and made his way to his private dining room. It was a small room with a square table that sat 10, but only 2 places were needed since Ursa had eaten earlier and had talked with Zuko in the morning. He took his seat at the head of the table and then a few minutes later Katara made her appearance. She sat down right next to Zuko at the seat reserved for the Fire Lady. She gave him a little peck on the cheek and smiled. "How is my sweetheart doing today?" Zuko smiled, which was happening a lot more than in the past. He took her hand and said, "not bad after that fight."