The Promise Part II

Ari made her way to the throne room for their daily meetings. Officials and generals would meet with them and keep them informed of what was going on in the Fire Nation. As Ari walked into the throne room and saw Zuko playing with the flames before extinguishing them with a whispered, "This isn't me."
Ari took her place next to him. "You will find your footing, I promise you."
Suddenly General Mak enters the throne room moving quickly before bowing before the rulers.
"Fire Lord Zuko, Fire Lady Ariadne."
"General Mak." Zuko replied with a nod.
"A message has arrived from the spies you sent to the Earth Kingdom!" General Mak informed them.
"You sent spies?!" Ari ask Zuko quietly with surprise while never letting her mask fall.
"Your suspicions are confirmed. The Earth King's army now marches towards Yu Dao."
"Father was right." Zuko whispered.
"Ready the troops, we leave for Yu Dao immediately." Zuko informed him.
General Mak bowed and left to carry out his orders.
Alone in the throne room again Ari turned to Zuko.
"I'm going with you."
"I know." Zuko sighed. "I don't like it but I know."

On board the ship carrying them and their troops to the Earth Kingdom Ari was doing everything in her power to hide her growing nausea. At six weeks pregnant Ari knew exactly what she was about to be in for; Ari had survived Hyperemesis Gravidarium three times already, she could do it again. The sudden wake up call that night did not help her rolling stomach as Zuko woke up with a scream from a nightmare. As she tried to comfort him, she quickly had to vacate their bed to grab a nearby basin as her stomach gave up on her.
"I knew bringing you in this condition was going to be a mistake." Zuko told her while rubbing small circles over her back.
"Not a mistake." Ari panted stubbornly while reaching for the peppermint candies she had stashed away for herself in the drawer. "I can handle it. I'll be fine. You need me."
Zuko sighed as they tried to get back to sleep.

The next day Ari walked in to find Zuko trying to meditate, she could see from the look on his face though that it was not doing much to help him clear his mind.
"Zuko talk to me. Tell me what's on your mind. It will help to say it out loud." Ari told him gently.
"I know my actions make sense! The Fire Nation citizens of Yu Dao are my people! As the Fire Lord, I have a duty to protect them! But it goes beyond that. When the mayor's wife invited me to stay with them, I didn't just get to see what Yu Dao was like. I got to see what their family was like. They ate together, sitting at the same table. They talked and laughed and when they argued, they didn't challenge each other to Agni Kais. They're so... normal. You, of all people, know my family is not. In my heart, I know what I'm doing is right. I'm not defending a colony. I'm defending people, and I'm defending their bonds with one another. But there is one fact that makes me doubt myself. Leading an army into Yu Dao is exactly what my father would do if he returned to the throne. From the outside, It looks as if I'm acting just like him. Does it matter if my reasons are different?" Zuko told her.
"Zuko, you struggle with knowing if your doing the right thing or not, but have you ever questioned my moral compass before?" Ari ask him.
"No, never." Zuko answered with a frown.
"I know that this is the right thing to do, I believe in you Zuko. We'll explain it to Earth King Kuei together, he'll see reason; he has to." Ari told him. "And Zuko."
"Yes."
"We will have that one day, one day very soon, A family of our own." Ari said putting a protective hand on her stomach. "Our children can have the childhoods we never had; filled with love and happiness and acceptance."
A soldier appeared at the door.
"Fire Lord Zuko, Fire Lady Ariadne! We've landed on the shores of the Earth Kingdom!"
Zuko wearing full fire nation armor, turned and put his helmet on. Ari and Zuko turned and looked at each other, steeling themselves for the potential battle ahead.

Zuko led the fire nation army to Yu Dao at the front of the column riding a komodo rhino. Ari was a few paces behind him with guards on either side of her, also riding a komodo rhino. She was suddenly very glad that she had nearly two decades experience riding horses. It was not long before they met the Earth Kingdom Army at the gates of Yu Dao.

They were faced with a rather confusing sight. Between the two armies were: Aang. Katara, a handful of girls in air nomad robes, and a few protestors in front of the gates. Suddenly one of their own tanks broke formation and drove to the center.
"Stay back, Avatar Aang! We'll protect you!" One of the girls in orange robes tells him.
"You guys aren't protecting anything! You're just putting yourselves in danger! You've got to go!" Aang says trying to push her away with a small air blast.

Sokka and Toph popped out of the top of the errant tank.
"Sokka?! Toph?!" Katara says in surprise as they start to get out of the tank.
"Suki, too. She's driving!" Toph tells her.
"Aang, Katara, weren't you guys supposed to pick me up?!" Sokka asks them.
"Sorry, Sokka. We've been kind of busy!" Aang apologizes.
"So you decide to hitch a ride with the Fire Nation Army instead?!" Katara asks her brother.
"For your information, Katara, we weren't "hitching a ride," we were trying to slow them down! And what about you two? Since when did defending Fire Nation colonials become a part of the Harmony Restoration Movement?!" Toph asks her.
"Fire Lord?! What, What's going on?" Asks General Chang in confusion.
"I'm not sure...!" Zuko responds, just as confused.
"Listen to me, Avatar! Harmony can be restored right now! My army will treat the colonials we arrest more justly than the Fire Nation treated us. You have my word! However, we cannot accomplish anything if the Fire Lord's army stands against us. We have a saying among the Council of Five: "An army with no leader is a dragon with no head." You alone have the power to end this quickly." General How declared glaring pointedly at Zuko.
Aang and Zuko stare at each other.
"General How, there has to be another way!" Aang pleaded with him.
"You know well the cost of war. I ask you to exchange one life for many."
"Well, if you guys were so busy slowing the Fire Nation down, how is it that they still ended up here?!" Katara asks Toph, hands on her hips.
"Keep your eyes on me, sugar queen. Keep your eyes on me." Toph told Katara with a smirk.
"She's following my plan, in case you're wondering!" Sokka said smuggly.
Toph jumped down from the tank, metalbending all of the screws out of the Fire Nation armies tanks, causing all of the wheels to fall off.
"Ha Ha! Look at that! Idea guy's still got the touch!" Sokka yelled pointing to his handy work, while Suki climbed out of the top of the tank next to him.
"The dragon may still have its head, but perhaps it's now lost its legs." General How said laughing.
"Quickly, Earth Kingdom troops, while the Fire Nation is in disarray! By royal decree, enter Yu Dao and arrest the colonials!" General How called to his troops
"Fire Lord, our tanks!" One of our soldiers called out.
"You're not all in tanks, are you? Soldiers of the Fire Nation, defend our people in the city of Yu Dao! Your Fire Lord commands you!" Zuko called out, commanding our troops.
"No! The Harmony Restoration Movement was such a simple plan! Why couldn't you just follow it through?" Aang yells going into the Avatar state and jumping over the Fire Nation army in front of Zuko.
"Snap out of it, Aang! Don't you remember what we talked about? You have to be calm, to make sure your decision is right!" Katara yells jumping in front of him, placing herself between Aang and Zuko to try and calm him down.
"But all these people, they're gonna kill each other!" Aang yells at Katara.
"Let me worry about them!" Katara leads him away from the fight to speak privately. "Aang, I never explained to you. On our first visit to Yu Dao when I saw Kori's family... I also saw our future. If the nations have to be separate, what will that mean for us? I, I know it's selfish of me to think like this. There's so much more at stake than just us." Katara explains to Aang.
"Katara..." Aang says in protest
"Go find a quiet place, Aang, and figure this out. Then, whatever decision you make... I'll trust that it's the right one. I'll support you. Even if it means you have to fulfill your promise. And even if it means we have to be apart." Katara tells him and they kiss briefly. "Go!" Katara yells at him.

The battle raged on all around them. Ari did her best to hang back out of the way with her guards, but the icy grip of fear clenched her heart as she watched her friends not only in danger but on the other side of the battle. Worse than that though was having to watch Zuko fighting again. She had hoped that with the war over she would never have to feel this kind of fear again. She couldn't stop the bile that was rising in her throat.

"General How! Withdraw your troops immediately!" Ari heard Zuko's voice above the din of battle.
"With all due respect, Fire Lord Zuko, you stand on Earth Kingdom soil! Here, your words have no authority!" General How called back as they began to duel.

Suddenly a bright light appeared in the sky. The entire battle stops, and everyone turned their attention to the light. Aang emerged in the Avatar state and is bearing down on them quickly.
"Aang, I know how this looks! But I swear to you, in my heart... !" Zuko called out to the avatar before sighing in defeat and removing his helmet. "None of that matters, does it? I'm doing exactly what my father would have done." Zuko says questioning himself again.
Suddenly Aang caused a crack to appear between the two armies, right between Zuko and General How. The ground underneath Zuko begins to crumble and he falls head first down the chasm that has formed.
"Fire Lord!" General How yelled as Zuko fell.
"Zuko!" Ari yells leaping from her komodo rhino and running as quickly as her legs will carry her to the chasm her husband had just fallen down.
Aang still in the Avatar state dives after him.
"Aang! I don't..." Zuko begins to say when suddenly Aang grabs his arm and pulls him from the void, before flying off with him to the city center.

Katara sees where he is headed and takes Earth King Kuei with her on an ice slide to meet them. "Let's go!" Katara tells Kuei. While Ari chases after them.
Aang sets a frightened Zuko down and the others quickly arrive at the city center.
Katara runs to embrace Aang while Ari throws herself at Zuko who is still on the ground.
"I was so worried. I thought I had lost you!" Ari crys.
Aang turned to address Kuei. "Earth King Kuei, look at who you're fighting! Fire Nation, yes. But also Earth Kingdom, Water Tribe, and now, Air Nomad. This is who stands against your army. And against the Fire Nation Army, too! It took me a while, but I finally understand. You're not just fighting a colony. You're fighting a whole new kind of world." Aang explains to him.
A look of realization appears on Earth King Kuei's face.
"Don't listen to that ash-maker propaganda, Earth King Kuei! Harmony now!" One of the Earth Kingdom protestors yells
"Harmony now! Fire Nation out! Harmony...!" Their compatriots yell.
"Quiet! Quiet! I need to see what I... what I... I just need to see." Earth King Kuei says while trying to silence the protestors and think.
"Zuko ... ?" Ari says alarmed, as she looks down and sees how pale Zuko looks.
"So I was right, then? All along... my decision... was right?" Zuko says weakly before collapsing.
"Zuko!" Aang and Ari both yell at the same time and Aang rushes over to his side.
"Help me get him to Appa!" Aang yells out to Katara for help.
"Where he goes I go!" Ari yells at them. Her nerves having had quite enough for one day.
Aang nodded and they loaded Zuko in Appa's saddle and took off.

"We'll take him to Iroh." Aang called over his shoulder.
Ari nodded, Zuko's head was on her lap and she bent over so that their foreheads were touching and just cried. Releasing the floodgates of fear and pain at the thought of losing him.
"Ari?" Katara said gently laying a hand on the other girls shoulder as she cried.
"Don't touch me!" Ari bit out. "He was trying to do the right thing! He was doing the right thing! He was prepared to talk to Kuei peacefullly, but his hand was forced in this matter!"
"I'm sorry Ari. We should have listened sooner. I see that now." Katara told her quietly and contritely.
"No you don't see! By blindly following the flawed Harmony Restoration Movement and not listening to the other side you almost killed my babys' father!" She continued shouting the stress of the last couple weeks flowing off of her in waves. Ari couldn't remember the last time her composure had slipped like this. That almost more than her words spoke volumes to Aang and Katara. As her words sunk in though it was like Aang had finally heard her.
"Baby?!" He stared at her wide eyed jumping from his place on Appas head to his saddle.
"Your pregnant! Zuko's going to be a dad?" Aang said in shock.
"Yes." Ari hissed at him.
"I'm sorry. I am really truly sorry. I promise, I am ready to listen and I'm certain Kuei is too. You have my promise as the Avatar this will be resolved peacefully."
They traveled in silence for some time. Once Ari had cried herself out Katara tried to reach out with an olive branch.
"Can I?" She ask holding up a glowing hand.
Ari nodded and Katara reached out and laid her hand on the other girls stomach.
"I can feel his heartbeat. It's so fast like a little butterfly. He's healthy and strong Ari."
"Thank you Katara." Ari replied more gently than she could have a little bit ago.

They arrived that evening at the Jasmine Dragon. Iroh helped them to get Zuko into bed and Ari changed into something much more simple.
They all sat down at the table with hot cups of tea.
Ari started talking first. "I don't talk about my world much, but I think I need to tell you about where I come from, my home. We made up a story about how I'm from the colonies, I guess it's not completely a lie. My country of origin was just a collection of colonies at one time, before we fought for our independence. The European colonization in the 16th century conquered and displaced much of the native American population. In the last 200+ years people have immigrated to the US and created a melting pot of many different races, cultures, and creeds. What would happen today if you told the entire populace that they had to leave and only those of the original native American bloodlines could stay? Most Americans are not just from one place anymore, we don't have family in the old world anymore. Families would be torn apart in any attempt to "send them back where they belong". Where would you send me, Aang, my own background is English, Irish, German, French. I have no ties to any of those countries. So where would you send me. My own children are a quarter Arabic. Would you break us up? This same exact thing is happening in Yu Dao, the blending of cultures. It doesn't make Yu Dao weaker, it makes it stronger. Yu Dao should no longer be Fire Nation or Earth Nation, it needs to be something new." Ari explained to them.
"I think your right." Aang told her hanging his head. "I'm sorry Ari. I should have listened sooner. I didn't see it, but I do now."
"Your in a mixed nation relationship yourself Aang, does Katara make you weaker? Sokka and Suki are water tribe and earth kingdom, is their relationship wrong? How about Zuko and I, an airbender married to a firebender?" Ari ask him driving her last nail into the conversation.
"No Katara makes me stronger as do you for Zuko." Aang replied. "Thank you Ari." He bowed to her, and he and Katara turned in for the night.

"Much has been going on." Iroh told Ari as they sat together at the table.
"It hasn't just been about the colonies, Uncle, Zuko has been meeting with Ozai. Everytime he does, it feels like he allows himself to be poisoned. He said he needed to talk to someone who understood, the pressures of ruling, but I don't think its smart." Ari explained.
"He should have come to me sooner." Iroh told her. "I think he sees you able to talk to Ozai unaffected and thinks he can do it himself, but you have a kindness about you that has been forged in fire that allows Ozai's vitriol to roll off you. I will make sure to impress upon my nephew once again that he can always come to me for advise."
"Thank you Uncle." Ari told him her heart warmed by being in his presence.
"Now off to bed with you, you look dead on your feet." Iroh said shooing her away.

Four days later Ari had scarcely left Zuko's side, her centennial felt like it had finally been rewarded as he began to rise.
"Ari?" Zuko said voice still heavy from sleep.
"Oh thank goodness you're awake! Let me go tell Uncle and then I'll get you cleaned up and dressed." She said bustling from the room quickly.
She came back just moments later with a steaming basin of water.
"You don't have to take care of me, you know." He told her gently.
"Sometimes it's like you don't even know me." She huffed as he got out of bed.
Zuko allowed her minstrations and he quickly found himself ushered downstairs, though truth be told he would have been much happier to lay in her arms a few minutes more.
"Aang! Guess who just woke up?" Iroh said stepping out to call Aang in, who had been out meditating on the roof.
"About time! How's he doing, Iroh?" Aang ask.
"Why don't you come and see for yourself?" Iroh said heading back inside. "Thank you for bringing him to me, Avatar. He really should have come earlier, on his own. Sometimes he forgets that he always has a place here. He may be Fire Lord now, but he is still a stubborn boy." Iroh told him, speaking loud enough for Zuko to hear him.
"I feel like I've been asleep for a week." Zuko told them.
"No. Just four days." Ari replied with a smile, just happy to see him awake.
"Hm." Zuko hummed as Aang took a seat across from him and Ari.
"The Earth King's agreed to talk. When you're ready, we'll meet him in Yu Dao. A small group of the city's residents are gonna join us, too. Whatever happens, though, Yu Dao can't stay a Fire Nation colony." Aang told him.
"It can't go back to being an Earth Kingdom city, either." Zuko replied.
"I know. It has to be something new. Ari helped explain that." Aang told him nodding.
"But what?" Zuko ask.
"That's why we need to meet." Aang replied.
"On the way to Yu Dao, I had a dream. You and I faced off against each other on a mountaintop. Wind and rain and lightning raged all around us. Behind me was Ozai, and behind you-" Zuko started to tell him.
"-Roku. And below us, the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation armies battled each other. I think I had the same dream!" Aang said finishing his thought.
"In yours, did you... end me?" Zuko ask quietly.
"Yes." Aang replied simply.
"You know what I felt, just as you did that... right before I woke up?" Zuko ask.
"Zuko, I-" Aang stumbled not sure where this was going.
"Relief. I was wrong to ask you for that promise, Aang. I've struggled for so long to do what's right; to even know what's right. Then when the war ended, I thought the struggle had finally ended, too. I thought I'd won for good. A visit to Ozai in prison changed that. I realized the struggle was actually just the beginning. I didn't think I could handle it, so I asked for your help. But asking you to end me if I went bad; that was like asking you to figure out right and wrong for me. I didn't just want you as my safety net. I wanted you as my escape hatch. I can't put that on you. I understand now. The struggle isn't something a Fire Lord can escape. I'm sorry, Aang." Zuko explained and Ari took his hand.
"You don't give yourself enough credit, Zuko. Deep down, you've always known what's right. I mean, you were right about Yu Dao." Aang told him.
"Yeah. I guess I was." Zuko replied with a smirk.
"So when you feel into that chasm I create... did you feel... relief... then, too?" Aang ask him.
Ari's heart leapt to her throat until he answered.
"No. As soon as my foot slipped, I knew somehow that you wouldn't let me die." Zuko answered.
"Because I'm a flawed Avatar." Aang ask him.
"Don't get me wrong! I'm grateful that you..." Zuko started to say before Aang cut him off.
"Roku told me you're his great-grandson."
"That's true." Zuko answered simply.
"Since Roku's my past life, in a way you're my family, Zuko. And no matter how hard I've tried, I've never been able to detach myself from those sorts of bonds. It's a flaw, I know, but it's one I've decided to accept. For this life, at least." Aang told him.
"You're not the one who's flawed, Aang. Why can't the struggle get easier for me? Even just a little? Sometimes I wonder how long I'll last. You know, in that dream, a woman stood with us on that mountaintop, watching from the shadows. I think she was my mother." Zuko told him.
"Sometimes, dreams are the way a person's spirit reveals the answer to his own problems. But then again, sometimes they are just the result of eating spicy food before going to bed." Iroh told them sagely.
"Maybe finding my mother would connect me to a part of my heritage that isn't so murky and confusing." Zuko mused.
"You mean Roku's bloodline? I don't know ..." Aang questioned.
"Maybe then, I'd finally find peace. I never told any of you this, but right after I became the Fire Lord, I sent out search party after search party looking for her. I even hired June and her shirshu. They all came back empty handed. What can I do now that I haven't already tried?" Zuko ask.
"I'm still working on Ozai, Zuko. 'Patience is bitter but its fruit is sweet', just give me a little more time." Ari told him.
"You should have a little more faith in your wife Zuko. Did I ever tell you what she told Ozai the first time they met?" Iroh said holding a tray of drinks.
"No." Zuko said curiously.
"Ozai was attempting to intimidate her and she simply looks at him and says in an even voice, 'No matter how the wind howls, the mountain cannot bow to it'" Iroh says imitating her tone before laughing.
Zuko and Aang just stared at Ari, eyes wide before continuing their discussion.
"It's a new world, Zuko. You need to take some new risks. We all do. But if I were you, I would trust your wife." Aang answered with a laugh.
"Speaking of risks, why don't you three try this brand-new beverage I invented? First, I cook balls of tapioca until they're soft and tender. Then I put them in tea, where they sit like little pearl-sized snacks at the bottom of each cup! Add a little milk and... ta da! A revolution in tea is born!" Iroh told them brimming with excitement.
"Ptah! What is that trying to sneak into my mouth?!" Spat Zuko.
"I've never had a tea that's quite so ... chewy." Aang said tactfully.
"Boba tea! I haven't had this since I was back home! Your a genius Uncle Iroh!" Ari said with glee.
"Well at least someone appreciates me." Iroh said with a sniff.
"Oh, Uncle before I forget, Ari and I have news to share...Ari's pregnant! We're going to have a baby!" Zuko told him with a smile.
"That's fantastic news! I am so happy for you two!" Iroh boomed as he pulled us into a tight hug. "You know the last couple days make sense now. I wondered why you were feeling so ill." Iroh said to Ari.
"It's getting worse, isn't it?" Zuko ask her his mood dropping.
"Don't worry. I'll be fine." Ari told him patting his arm.
"There is pain in this joy too, isn't there?" Iroh ask them.
"Yes, I'll have to stay with the Southern water tribe for the next 4 years starting just before the baby is born." Ari said quietly.
"We'll get through it Ari. I know we will." Zuko told her turning to hold her.
"It also means my time is running short. I have to get the information we need from Ozai to find Ursa." Ari said with determination.