The Fire Lord's Bride
The village was quiet, too quiet. Zuko exchanged a concerned look with Iroh before nodding to one of his captains. It was the signal to let a group of select Fire Nation soldiers approach the place while the rest lay concealed in the nearby woods. "I don't like this," the Fire Lord whispered after the captain ordered the men to move out. Both Iroh and Toph nodded in agreement.
"I can hear people breathing inside some of the houses," Toph said, "but they're not moving much and they're definitely not talking. It's weird." Her cloudy jade eyes gleamed at the thought that they might be facing a fight. It had been a while since she had squared off against fellow Earthbenders. The ones back in Lo-Man had been too easy to beat, so she didn't really count them.
"So this could be it, the place where the kidnappers are hiding," Iroh surmised. "If all goes well, we could all be safe and headed home by tonight."
Toph punched the old man playfully. "Oh, now you've done it. You never say things like that without inviting the universe to prove you wrong," she teased, and Iroh chuckled, unrepentant.
Zuko looked at his Uncle and his wife with great fondness. He was glad that Toph had finally forgiven Iroh for meddling in their lives and unintentionally causing a lot of hurt for all three of them over a year ago. They all still had a lot of work to do in order to fully earn their happiness but, at least, they had already taken the first steps towards building a new life together. He and Toph, though not exactly the perfectly married couple, were enjoying all the little details of getting to know each other better every day. He then made a silent promise to himself that once they rescued Lady Ayumi, he would take his new wife somewhere and have a proper honeymoon that didn't involve chasing after kidnappers and camping in forests. He would leave Iroh in charge of the Fire Nation for a few months and treat his wife to all the luxuries he could possibly think of, which he was sure she would just ignore, but he would make the grand gesture anyway. Smiling to himself, Zuko realized that he had just done the same thing that Toph had chided Iroh for and, in his mind, he entreated the universe not to punish him for being uncharacteristically optimistic. "As nice as it is to think our journey's almost at an end," he said to the two, "we really should pay more attention to what's happening to our men in the village. We don't want to be taken by surprise." The three of them then watched intently as the soldiers slowly made their way into the quiet little settlement.
It was the last one they had yet to check because it was located farthest up the mountainside. During a brief reconnaissance mission earlier, they had counted only seventeen cottages and one building that appeared to be a shrine of some sort. The structures were clustered around an old well, the only source of water they had seen in these parts. The simple cottages looked a little weather-beaten but sturdy, and the shrine was apparently well-cared for judging by its bright coat of new paint and embroidered banners. All in all, the place seemed very similar to the other villages they had explored. But there were no children playing outside, no women gossiping around the well, no men working in the woods. The silence was eerie.
The captain in charge of the group gave a command and the soldiers split up to investigate each of the cottages. Two of the buildings were apparently empty, since the men who went in came back out almost immediately. However, six soldiers had different luck. As soon as they opened the doors of the cottages they were checking, they were blasted back by large slabs of rock. Then, moving with a deadly purpose, Earthbenders in the unmistakable uniforms of the Dai Li came out of the cottages and attacked the soldiers. Zuko cursed and, before he could even give the order for the rest of his company to go help the others, Toph had already left his side. She gleefully joined the fight with a high-pitched battle cry and, soon, most of the Earthbenders became absorbed in fighting against her attacks instead of engaging the Fire Nation soldiers. Zuko told Iroh to find Lady Ayumi and he himself went to Toph's aid, ready to give her a tongue lashing for being headstrong and reckless. But he had yet to reach her when a bolt of lightning sliced through the air and hit her on the back. Toph collapsed to the ground and Zuko's blood turned cold.
His sister Azula, who was supposed to be imprisoned in the Boiling Rock to his knowledge, casually strolled out of the shrine with a pair of Dai Li agents trailing after her. They were carrying what appeared to be a lumpy sack between them. She smiled at him. "What a lovely day we're having," she idly observed. "And you are looking extremely well, Zuzu."
"How—?" he was too shocked to finish his question.
She smirked. "You should really pay a visit to your most secure prison from time to time, Fire Lord, and make certain that it is really secure," she told him teasingly. "And you should hire new prison staff too while you're at it, since the Warden and his men have been recently—terminated."
Zuko felt sick at the images her words conjured in his head. But he steadied himself. He would not let her see how she had unsettled him. "Where is Lady Ayumi?" he demanded. Even as he spoke, there was nothing he wanted to do more than to rush to Toph's side and see if she was all right. He felt panic and worry start to claw at his insides, and he pushed the debilitating emotions back. "Don't make me ask you again, Azula."
"Oh, very well," she shrugged. "Since you've obviously missed your little bride so much—" She made a gesture to her two Earthbender escorts and they dropped the sack to the ground. But it wasn't a sack. It was a large piece of cloth covering a slight human form. Azula then used her foot to push aside the cloth until the cold, dead face of Lady Ayumi was finally revealed.
Feeling his gorge rise, Zuko abandoned all thoughts of appearing in control and lashed out at his sister with fire. She quickly deflected his attack with a shield of her own flames then followed this with a bolt of lightning that barely missed his head. They fought furiously, Azula laughing like the madwoman she was all the while. As they moved and changed positions during their battle, Zuko realized that they had ended up only a few feet away from Toph. With a growing rage, he saw that she was still unconscious and her back had an ugly burn wound where his sister's lightning had struck. He became even more ferocious as he threw fireball after fireball at Azula, who kept blocking or deflecting them. Finally, one managed to slip through her defenses and knock her down. Zuko moved in swiftly to press his advantage.
"The Fire Lady! Help the Fire Lady!"
Azula's eyes widened in surprise when she heard the command come from one of the Fire Nation captains. Then, a gleeful smile spread across her face when she saw some of the soldiers run to Toph's side. Zuko's movement was stilled and he was suddenly filled with a deep sense of foreboding.
"Well, well," she licked her lips in relish. "Isn't this interesting?"
"You won't touch her!" he cried out in anger and sent a searing blast of fire straight towards his sister. A solid wall of earth suddenly rose to protect Azula from the flames and, before Zuko could launch another attack, he felt something sharp and cold go through him. Dully, he looked down and saw the edge of a sword protruding from his chest. "No," he managed to say faintly before he fell to his knees. The sword was retracted smoothly and blood gushed out of his wound. Someone kicked him then and he landed face down on the ground.
"Toph," he tried to call for her, but darkness claimed him before he could finish saying her name.
oOo
"Zuko." It was a familiar voice, one he hadn't heard in a long time but had never forgotten. That voice was comfort and safety and love. He had thought that he would never get to hear it again, but now it was calling him. He struggled to open his eyes.
"Zuko, please don't give up," the voice pleaded. "Please, darling. Come back."
Light seeped in through his eyelids and he blinked. He could see nothing at first except the light until, slowly, a form darkened and took shape before his eyes. A face covered in veils was looking down at him. "Zuko?" the familiar voice came from behind the layers of fabric, followed by a sob. Then, one by one, the cloths were carelessly pulled back until he was staring at someone both deeply beloved and believed to be long lost.
"Mother."
