Author's Disclaimer: I don't own a thing belonging to "Avatar: the last Airbender." Nathing.
Author's notes: Well here we are, with a bit of a mini plot again :P It's due I think.
A big thanks to CharlieBarrow for helping with a few key moments and with notes. If any lines are replicated those are hers.
"Raking the Coals"
Chapter eighteen "Time in the Capital"
Ty Lee pulled aside the curtains of the palanquin and peered out at the nobles and servants alike bustling around the city. Her bearers grunted as they almost side-swiped another palanquin and the bearers exchanged low words of anger, before righting their charges and taking off at a lope. Ty Lee settled back against the cushions, smoothing her robes nervously.
The few days at sea had her feeling lonely and she was feeling the physical distance between her and Azula. Ty Lee grazed over the edges of her mating mark half hidden by her robe's collar. Her fingertips grazed the imprints of Azula's teeth lovingly. She made a silent promise to aide Zuko quickly and return home. Mate aside, she'd left her children too. Oh, how she missed them.
The palanquin was set down and Ty Lee arranged her robes, readying herself for a public appearance. The curtain was opened, and a servant held his hand out, helping her down. Ty Lee blinked, letting her vision adjust to the bright sunshine, as rows of Fire Nation soldiers, armor glinting, bowed to one knee. Ty Lee strode through their ranks, toward the raised stairs at the far end of the courtyard. The Fire Lord and his family stood waiting, resplendent in their red robes. Even Zuko was wearing robes, hiding his figure from her gaze and Ty Lee blinked the memory away of how else he had looked up close.
The closer she got, Ty Lee was surprised to see Zuko had grown a short beard, the ends forked with stylish gel. His look different from Ozai in that he'd grown a mustache to match, much like Iroh. Ty Lee wondered if Zuko and his uncle were getting along these years and stopped before the steps. She swept a graceful bow, falling to her knees and arranging her robes around her. Deep red was the imperial color, so she had worn pink, her favorite color. The edges of Zuko's beard pulled with a small smile just for her and he gestured to his side.
Ty Lee heard "Go to her" and then Izumi was in front of her. Ty Lee gazed up at her daughter, her tall child as tall as Azula, the sun behind her head and partially blinding her. The golden princess held a hand down and Ty Lee took it, rising to her feet. The princess gave a half bow to her gallantly and offered her arm. Ty Lee took it, unable to keep her eyes off her daughter. Zuko's reign had introduced old chivalry and generous gestures and she was oddly touched.
Lines at the corners of Zuko's eyes crinkled as he stood before her, smiling slightly. Mai's outfit was resplendent, and her small smile appeared genuine.
"Fire Lord, Fire Lady, thank you for receiving me," Ty Lee said eloquently. Zuko waved a hand.
"Let's all sit down and get away from this place," he suggested, his words pitched for just the small family and Ty Lee to hear. Izumi guided Ty Lee inside and a comfortable sitting room was found. Ty Lee found herself relaxing slightly, even though her eyes still darted about looking for seams in the walls. Who knew who could be listening in the capital at any point? Zuko noticed her gaze and gave a soft sigh. He sat beside Mai knees spread.
"This room is clean, I assure you."
Ty Lee watched her child's face; Izumi took that information as matter-of-fact. Just how deep did these searches extend over the years?
"Well, we're all here. Princess, how are your studies?" Ty Lee asked gently. Zuko ordered tea and a younger Kyoshi Warrior ran off for it.
Izumi sat straight in her seat, hands on her knees. "Very well. I've already set to studying "The Saga of the First."
Ty Lee's brows quirked and she and Zuko shared a smile. That particular saga was a special piece of prose the crowned heir had to memorize and preform to the royal court without making a mistake. It pained Ty Lee to remember that at the time Zuko had been learning it, Azula had also taken it up, in secret. She'd paid a teacher under the table to instruct her on the elaborate poem. When dispatched to the field so many years ago, Ty Lee had lain on her belly, watching Azula practice the rhyme and diameter without missing a beat. Always in private, did Azula recite it to her. The mention of the poem put a surge of warmth through Ty Lee; she longed for her mate badly.
"Well, good! You need to learn that for your show for the court," Ty Lee nodded thoughtfully. Izumi's face flushed with pride. She sat up straight.
"My thanks….Mother." Izumi paused over her title, but Ty Lee nodded her thanks. She met Mai's eyes; there was a shared pain between them both knew well.
"Aside from that poem, her studies are progressing well. She's learning the essays the Fire Lord needs knowledge of." Zuko accepted a cup of tea from the tray brought in. His hands were large and graceful, Ty Lee noted. But not as attractive as Azula's hands. She shivered to herself.
"Thanks, Dad," Izumi said easily. Ty Lee smiled, focusing on her daughter's features. Azula had looked that pleased at that age….wasn't she fourteen now, older? About the age they were during the Earth Kingdom campaign during The War….. Flash memories of Azula's voice as it once was, higher, pitched in command, echoed in Ty Lee's ears. Oh, darling….
"How about your firebending? Have you learned all the base forms?" Ty Lee asked. Mai answered this time.
"She is in the higher levels. Of course, that should come to no surprise." A small smile tugged at Mai's lips. Zuko coughed into a fist.
"She is talented. And she holds information well," Zuko said. "However, some basic techniques need be remembered."
This he directed to the tall teen who nodded, as if she heard this often. A furtive look crossed the crown princess's visage.
"I will, Dad. Just like you taught me."
Ty Lee had to wonder what she meant as the meeting wound on. Zuko held his hand out to his wife and helped her to her feet.
"Shall we dine? It'll be just us, of course."
"Lord Kitaka wanted to discuss the coffers with you tonight," Mai reminded him. Zuko nodded, a hand passing over the ends of his short beard.
"Very well. He'll be joining us shortly, then we can all retire."
"I'd like that," Ty Lee said. She was looking forward to spending more time with Izumi, even if she didn't know her that well. What were her favorite books, did she have any? What did she like to do when the schedule of a crowned heir was not pressing on her?
Izumi again offered her arm to her lady mother and Ty Lee took it. She wished Azula were here to see their child this way, so dedicated and….noble. It hurt her heart to think of what could have been. But Zuko was happy. Mai seemed to be as well. And Izumi, she was happy. That had to be the most important thing.
Ty Lee told herself again and again she'd done the right thing so many years ago. She couldn't help feeling guilty concerning her mate. Again, she felt it, and she knew she'd always feel it. But that just meant she loved Azula deeply.
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"You go ask."
"No, you."
"Fine, I'll do it. Cowards."
Kazumi rolled her eyes as Aiko sauntered past and held her head up high as she stalked toward their sire. Azula was wearing a loose pair of trousers and airy tunic; all the better, it was very hot today. But she was sitting on the beach, bare feet in the sand, and staring at the water. She had smiled seeing the pups at breakfast. But it had been only a few days and already Fire Princess Azula was lost.
Aiko hated seeing her sire this way. She knew it was because Mama was away. But she'd be back…wouldn't she? It did her heart good to know her sire loved her mother so, but she was losing her way without Ty Lee.
"Papa?"
Azula blinked and looked up at her. She had to shield her eyes with one hand. "Yes, pup?"
Aiko knew Papa could tell them all apart; she must be lost in thought to fall back on that affectionate title. "Are we to help teach the class today?"
Azula grunted. Her left foot sifted in the sand, and she sighed. "Yes."
Aiko waited a few beats but Azula didn't say anything else. She screwed up her courage and stood straight. "Will you be joining us?"
Azula shrugged. "Perhaps…."
Aiko paused, then leaned to put her hand on Azula's shoulder. She was startled to feel her sire shaking under her touch. But her sire did pat her hand back.
"Go on, pup."
"Yes, Papa."
As Aiko made her way to her sisters, she hoped her papa would cheer up. Mama would come back home. And hopefully soon. She cast a look back over at her sire. Azula's shoulders were slumped and she seemed to leak the strength she was known for. Aiko shivered and hurried on.
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Ty Lee rolled over in the large bed arms wrapped around a plush pillow. She pressed her cheek against it, one leg curling up over the pillows side too. She had been dreaming of Azula; the pillow was a poor substitute for her mate, the warm hands, the delighted laughs, the deep kisses…..
There was muffled speech out in the halls and Ty Lee sighed, pushing to sit up and arrange her sleeping robe. She and Azula had so few servants at their beach home that it was almost disconcerting to hear gaggles of them passing through the early hours of the morning. She ran a hand through her bangs and went to the vanity to comb her long brown hair. A knock and a servant poked her head in.
"Will you need any drink before the morning meal, my lady?" she asked. Ty Lee watched the girl through the mirror's reflection.
"A cup of tea, if you would. Spiced, please." Any amount of warmth she could have without her mate near, she would take. Ty Lee had already sent off a letter, dropping it off at the palace's messenger hawk station the very first night as it were. She knew letters would be days apart, but she hoped Azula would receive some comfort from reading anything from her. Her mating bite ached, and Ty Lee pressed a hand to it. 'Calm….be calm, my love….'
The tea was delivered, and Ty Lee drank it idly as she was helped to dress for the day. She missed her usual flaring pants and tops, settling for royal long robes. A new set had been laid out for her and the deep red made her think of Azula's gaze. She swallowed the rest of the tea and set the cup on the vanity.
"Where is the Fire Lord?" She asked the servant making the bed. The girl looked up, pulling the sheet taut at the end.
"In the courtyard off the royal apartments. He's training the crown princess," she reported. Ty Lee smiled. This she had to see.
Ty Lee noted a few Kyoshi Warriors trailing her as she left her chambers. Of Suki herself, she saw no sign, but that was fine. Her own dear friends, Tsung and Ying, had also left the service they'd been raised in, living on Ember Island near her own family. She wished they were here as well but at least when she went home, Ty Lee knew she would see them again and in more comfortable surroundings.
When she came out to the private courtyard of the royal family, shielding her eyes against the early morning sun, Ty Lee had to smile. Zuko was preforming kata with his child, both in tandem and in step, perfectly in tune with each other's motions. It reminded her of her mate with the pups. Ty Lee watched, grinning to herself. Suddenly, she realized what seemed so different just now. Izumi's fire was orange, just like Zuko's. Hadn't Mai told her in confidence once her original source was blue, much like Azula's? Then again, to change the source of her fire's color took a great amount of skill. That couldn't be overlooked.
Izumi noticed her first. She gave a slight nod of her head to her apparent sire and Zuko nodded back. Both finished and bowed, hands pushed down at their sides as they gave a long slow exhale of high energy released and settled.
Ty Lee applauded slowly as she stepped out onto the paving stones. "You've grown well into your talents!" she commended her child. Izumi gave a rare grin openly. She straightened when Zuko's hand settled on her shoulder.
"She has. I daresay the Crown Princess is this generation's prodigy," Zuko said. His eyes met Ty Lee's and their gaze was unreadable to their child, but visible in their obviously shared thought. Ty Lee nodded.
"Yes…." Ty Lee murmured. Izumi smoothed her bangs out of her eyes and jogged to the edge of the courtyard; Mai had arrived, and she greeted her lady mother with a bow. Mai settled a hand on her shoulder.
"Good morning, Mom," Izumi said. Mai's smile was so serene Ty Lee could have wept.
"Good morning, child. Shall we go to breakfast?"
"Yes," Izumi agreed. She gave the Fire Lady her arm and Zuko walked with Ty Lee on his. They went to the royal couple's private dining room and settled in, waiting for the meal to be served.
"Have you sent Azula a letter yet?" Mai asked Ty Lee. Ty Lee nodded.
"The first night here. I know it'll take awhile to get there but…"
Mai nodded. "I know…."
Izumi sat up straighter. "How is Fire Princess Azula?"
Ty Lee blinked hard. "Fine! I hope my stay won't be long here…."
"She does rely on you," Zuko added helpfully. As the crown princess took that in stride, Ty Lee gave a worried glance to her friends. The looks they gave back were comforting.
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"When I spoke to those inside the Fire Sage's walls, there were two directly in charge of what went on that scroll," Zuko murmured close to her ear. Ty Lee nodded. She'd remembered a room of Fire Sages watching….what went on that night between them, but her examination beforehand had been documented by two sages in general.
Mai was with them. She reached over and took Ty Lee's hand. They espied the Fire Sages going about their random tasks in the large temple main chamber. All of them had grey long beards and all had to have been of Ozai's regime. Zuko had no idea how to go about implementing his own views on the Fire temples and had left the Fire Sages go about as they had been. He hadn't been above using a few select members for his own uses. Uses that saw a child to her fourteenth name day.
"I recall. The two younger ones that couldn't speak…" Ty Lee remembered her examination. They had rubbed over her flat stomach and done other tests to her lithe body, staring through her. But they had marked their scroll as they'd wanted.
"Handy, Zuko," Mai said dryly. Zuko shrugged, giving an uncertain look to her.
"They have been questioned by Genma's servants before. Luckily, they were looked over easily. But we can't always ask that to happen," Zuko muttered. He pulled the hood of his cloak forward, shadowing his recognizable features. "One of them is gravely ill. I must speak with him before he leaves this world."
Ty Lee shivered. Old fables growing up of being near the afflicted or ill encroached on her mind and she tried to banish the cobwebs away. That was all just poppycock, wasn't it? Azula had been sick a few times over the years and she'd nursed her back to health. They weren't going to contract the sage's illness.
"We'll wait here, Zuko," Mai said. She and Ty Lee pulled their cloaks forward and tried to look like random petitioners waiting in this cut off chamber as Zuko strode away. "So…how is Azula really?"
Ty Lee blinked. She gave her friend a sly smile. "Missing me. I can tell." She tapped her throat once.
Mai nodded. "Azula always tries to pretend she's so strong alone but really, we helped prop her up. You more so now, of course."
Ty Lee sighed. "She's lost without me. I want to go to her, but all this…."
"We'll get it righted. Izumi is the Crown Heir. Everyone will have to accept that," Mai said smoothly. Her eyes twinkled with a fierce light. Ty Lee knew she would do anything to secure her child's future.
"Azula has kept away, for her sake. Izumi is doing so well. She hasn't…suspected?" Ty Lee found herself murmuring. Mai ducked close and they cleaned close, as if to swallow their whispered words lest anyone hear. But no one was near.
"No. She takes after Zuko and he's done a fine job with her. She IS his daughter," Mai whispered fiercely. Ty Lee nodded. The double whallop of guilt and fierce pride made her feel ill and Mai took her arm, noticing her fluttering chi. "You did what you felt was right, Ty."
"I doubt anyone who knows would see it that way," Ty Lee mumbled. But she and Mai waited, listening to a steady dripping of water somewhere in the other room.
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Zuko approached the bed of the bed-ridden Fire Sage. His partner, the other mute man, waited, eyes shining with grief. Their fingers fluttered as they communicated silently. Their black beards were streaked through with random white hairs, but overall, they were still younger than the grey beards in the temple.
"My scroll?" he asked, trying to deepen his voice. The healthier of the two padded over to a trunk and unlocked it. He rifled through a few scrolls, and Zuko could see it was neatly organized. The older man handed him a sealed scroll. Zuko noted the wax seal was intact; he tucked it into his robe's sleeve and gave a bow of the head, keeping his face hidden. "My thanks. I'll make certain you're compensated….."
The two men signed at each other again and the one on the bed coughed, pushing himself to a sitting position. His partner grabbed a piece of parchment and a brush and the sick man scrawled a few characters. Zuko gazed at the offered parchment curiously. It read 'No payment. We do as the crown asks.'
Zuko felt a chill. So, the mute men knew who he was. He supposed that was to be expected. The scroll WAS about his former concubine and her health before joining with him. But it seemed the mute Fire Sages were loyal and not to his father's regime.
"Still, you have my thanks. If there's anything you need…."
The sick man waved a hand. He scrawled a few more characters and his partner offered the paper. "No need. Thank you for all you've done for us. Life is short."
It was a short but profound statement. Zuko found himself smiling. He gave a half bow of politeness at the waist. "I'll let myself out."
But the healthier of the two ran to open their chamber door for him, smiling at him. Zuko swept out, clutching the scroll inside his sleeve.
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"My princess, the mail is here, and you've gotten something from the capital…." The servant said, holding the sealed letter over Azula. Azula darted up, grabbing the letter from her so hard the woman yelped, and jogged off across the sand, energy renewed. Her name was scrawled on the outside in Ty Lee's hand and she eagerly broke the wax seal.
It was indeed from her mate and Azula stalked back and forth on the beach, scouring the elegant characters. "I love you….I miss you…." The words written in her mate's hand filled her heart with confidence. It had been almost a week….but Ty Lee would be home. She promised at the bottom of the letter. Azula sighed and carefully folded the parchment, tucking it into her tunic, against her breast.
"Papa!" Nozomi met her on the beach, noting the odd smile on her sire's lips. Azula smiled down at her.
"Yes, Nozomi."
Her daughter straightened her shoulders. "The class is ready. Aiko's leading but I think you should take precedence."
Azula's heart warmed at her words. "Of course. For awhile." She tucked the letter into the waistband of her shirt and clapped Nozomi on the shoulder. Her pup ran to keep up with her. She could tell her pup was energized by her revitalized chi. But Ty Lee loved her. That's what helped. The only balm for her soul…..
Aiko had the men and women lined up, performing kata. Random spurts of fire burst at odd intervals with the motions. Aiko waited at the head of the class, Zirin beside her. Azula nodded to her. Her old friend's eyes were worried for her, but she stepped aside for the Fire Princess.
"No. No no no NO!" Azula snapped at the class's motions. The lines of men and women froze in place, one foot raised to kick, in unison. Azula smirked at that. She held her words, waiting to see who would break first. One woman finally lost balance and tumbled down to her knees, bowing her head low in embarrassment. One by one, everyone did so until the whole class was showing the backs of their necks to her in their bows. Azula rubbed the side of her jaw a moment then flexed her fingers.
"WHY would you kick at that moment? You're supposed to side-step! I swear, I'm out for a DAY…" Azula ranted. The class cringed, waiting instruction. Azula huffed, a stream of blue fire leaving her mouth in irritation.
"AGAIN. At the start. Phoenix survives the Day." Azula couldn't help crossing her arms, a small scowl marring her features as the rows of men and women began again. Their form WAS good. But it wasn't perfect. Not like her pups. But really, they still needed help with other skills like their chi blocking lessons from Ty Lee….Ty Lee….
'Mate, where are you?' She thought. Azula felt her gut broil in irritation and she stalked away. Zirin decided to take the hit and jogged after her.
"Princess?"
"Keep the maggots at it. They're only good for kimodo dragon fodder anyway," Azula growled. Zirin nodded, not looking too surprised. But the pups all shared a look. They had to get their mama back, and fast. Their sire was already spiraling downhill fast.
End for now
End notes: And on we go! Like it, don't like it, drop a review and tell me why.
Pen 8/01/2020