PART III: THE LOYALISTS
Part III is inspired by the Biblical story of Absalom, King David's third son who rebels against him in 2 Samuel 13-18
Note to people who have been following this story: Part III gets a little crazy but I think you will really like the ending. Thanks for reading! :)
Sunny
It's been four months since Zuko proposed and Azula and I are on our way to Yu Dao for the first ever joint military training exercise. Zuko, Aang and the Earth King have been busy designing the five day program that consists of team building and intelligence exercises between some of the top officers from the three nations - the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Water Tribe. It sounds like it's going to be a really fun and enriching experience since it's always nice to be able to learn from other benders. Plus, I may even get a chance to work on my swordsmanship, which I haven't had much time to practice since I left my position in Ba Sing Se.
Zuko, Aang, and the gAang should be there by now and I'm excited to see them (Zuko most of all of course).
"So, I hear you and Zu-Zu are engaged," Azula says as she boards the balloon.
"Hi Azula!" I reply as I hug her. She doesn't seem to like hugs so I keep it quick. "We are." I show her my ring.
"Cute," she says, inspecting the ring. "I guess we're sisters now then."
Right. I didn't even think about that!
"Yeah, soon we will be," I reply happily. It's actually really nice to have a sister for once though I hope she's nicer to me than she is to Zuko...
"So, when's the wedding?"
"Oh... not sure yet..." We've both been so busy with work that we haven't even talked about the wedding!
She laughs.
"Guess you guys haven't thought it all through yet, huh? Typical."
"Yeah, I'm sure we'll figure it out," I say mostly to reassure myself rather than her since I doubt she really cares all that much.
"Well, have fun at beauty school. It sure seems like something you'll love," she says sarcastically.
"Ugh, beauty school? What's that?" I ask. "It sounds really lame."
"It is," she replies. "It's kind of like an extended spa day, which isn't so bad except that when I say extended I mean like three months."
She can't be serious?! It sounds like a drag.
"Three months?!"
"Yup. It's tradition. Every Fire Lady goes through it before she marries the Fire Lord. You sit through three months of 'beautification' and Fire Lady etiquette classes before they deem you 'ready' to marry the Fire Lord. Didn't Zu-Zu warn you about it?"
"No. He's never mentioned it," I say upset at the idea of having to sit around and do nothing for three months. What a waste of time! Plus, who is going to go to Ping Yao where we hear a rebellion may be brewing? Okay fine... realistically, I'm sure we can find someone to go on that mission but I was totally looking forward to it!
"Must have slipped his mind," she replies. "You know Zu-Zu, he never thinks things all the way through."
"Right..."
We land and are greeted by Zuko, Aang and the gAang.
Zuko
I help Sunny put her things in her room and we decide to stay in for the rest of the day, away from everyone else. It's not that I don't want to spend time with the gAang but I haven't seen Sunny in days and would very much prefer to spend some quality time with her instead of Aang and Sokka.
"How was the ride over?" I ask as she gets settled in.
"Fine..." she replies. That's an interesting response. She's usually much more cheerful than that.
"Is something wrong, love?"
"No..." Okay, she's clearly lying.
"You know you're a horrible liar right?" I call her out on it. She smiles and then kisses me, which would normally distract me from any worries I may be having but not when it comes to her. "Good try, what's wrong?" I say after we kiss for a while.
"Darn. You know me too well, huh?" she replies, still avoiding my question. She's silent for a while but then confesses, "Azula told me about 'beauty school.'"
"Oh, you mean the 'beautification' process every Fire Lady has to go through before she's married... Right." I totally forgot bout that!
"Yeah, it sounds like a drag."
"Well, I'm sure you can just skip it. I mean it's not like anything could possibly make you any more beautiful than you already are," I say as I admire her beauty. She smiles though she doesn't seem convinced. "Sunny?" I say after a while.
"Yes?"
"You know you're the most beautiful girl in the world, right?" I reassure her of a fact that I've known since the day I first saw her.
"Right... thanks Zee. But it's not like I can just skip something that's tradition because you think it's not necessary."
"Well, I am the Fire Lord, so I guess I can just cross that part out of the rules," I say playfully. She's unimpressed. "I'm kidding of course... I'm sure it can't be that bad."
"Yeah, sure," she replies though I can tell that she's still not convinced. "So, when do you think I should start this crap?" Crap is exactly the right word for it. I think about it for a while. I know how much she wants to go to Ping Yao so I'm thinking it's probably best for us to wait until that mission is over.
"How about after Ping Yao," I suggest.
"Okay. Thanks, Zee," she says, seemingly relieved that I didn't say tomorrow or something.
"You know, I wish we could just skip all the formalities and just elope," I say somewhat jokingly though I actually kind of mean it.
She laughs. "Me too."
We spend the rest of the day hanging out in her room until we get hungry. She takes me down to her favorite seafood place in Yu Dao by the marina. And, after we eat, we walk around the marina and watch as the sun sets behind the clusters of docked ships. It's nice to just walk around with my fiance. Though, I can't wait to just be married already!