"My greetings to his majesty Earth King Kuei." I bowed reverently before King Kuei, my voice rousing Bosco from his nap and immediately he stood up with a rumbling growl, lumbering towards me as I reached out and rubbed his head. "Hello to you too Bosco. I'm sorry but I don't have a lot of energy at the moment, so I can't play with you. Maybe later, okay?" Seemingly understanding, Bosco nuzzled me before sitting down at my side as Kuei smiled to me.
"Lady Kayo, you are always welcome here, but if you have come on a diplomatic mission at the order of Fire Lord Zuko…"
"Zuko doesn't know I'm here." I lifted my hand to placate the king, assuring him that my intention wasn't to commune a message from the Fire Lord. "Avatar Aang and Katara came by last night and told me what you've decided. I must admit, I'm a little shocked. I thought that you wanted peace, your majesty." He sighed wearily, looking just as exhausted as I felt.
"I do wish for peace, but so long as the colonies exist then my people will not be satisfied or feel safe. I am their king, and it is my duty to do what is best for all my people, and being weak will not get the job done. Do not try to persuade me otherwise, Lady Kayo, my decision has been made. I am only waiting on General How to inform me that the preparations are ready before we march." This gave me pause, thinking over that last part before I blinked at Kuei.
"You're going personally? Yourself?"
"Yes, I think it is time that I led by example, and I wish to be there to enforce the Harmony Movement." Inwardly I groaned, getting the feeling that I wasn't going to be much use here.
"Your majesty, using force to create harmony is counterproductive and will only have the opposite effect. Now I'm not saying that your decision is not a reasonable one, but if I may, I would like to suggest something." Waiting for the king's permission, I then continued after he nodded his head. "Before you go in with force, perhaps try a gentler hand first. At least try to reason with the people themselves, if you do not wish to speak to Zuko. A wise ruler will only use violence as an absolute last resort, and I know that you are no fool, your majesty." I smiled to him. "May I at least accompany you? I can offer you protection, should someone attempt an underhanded strike."
"Your words and offer are greatly appreciated, Lady Kayo. I should be glad for your company, though I must say you do not look well. Would you like me to call for my royal physician? He is the best in the land." Assuring him that I was fine and that I only had a slight fever from stress and exhaustion from working too much, Kuei's expression slackened into softness and understanding. "It has been a difficult year for all of us. Please, join me for some rest in the gardens. I'll have my servants prepare you some medicine and food."
"Thank you for your kindness, your majesty." Scratching Bosco behind the ear after bowing, Kuei and I spent the morning enjoying the warmth of the sunlight lounging in one of my most beautiful parts of the garden where we talked about anything but the upcoming campaign. The medicine worked wonders and with a constant supply of fresh, cool drinks and light foods as to not weigh too heavily on my stomach, I felt a great deal better. Now well enough to play with Bosco, I played fetch with him, using a ball filled with water to send it flying across the gardens where he eagerly chased after it. King Kuei and I got along well together, and he actually said that he thought of me as a dependable person and was glad that I was coming with him to Yu Dao. I was a little worried about how fast everything was unravelling, but if we could just get Kuei and Zuko to talk, and to also make them listen to the citizens themselves, then maybe we could come up with a solution.
I had an idea in mind, but I knew very few people would be on board for it, so I kept quiet for now. Whilst I could, I enjoyed spending time at leisure until after midday, General How reported that all the preparations were ready. It would take us some time to actually reach Yu Dao, but King Kuei invited me to join him in his personal war balloon after a tearful farewell with Bosco. It was pleasant, flying through the air at such a leisurely pace, it made me think of Appa. "I never asked, but what do you think about the Yu Dao situation, Lady Kayo?" I couldn't help but chuckle lightly at Kuei's politeness.
"Just Kayo is fine, your majesty. To be honest, I agree with both sides." I revealed, making him look at me with a blink of bewilderment and confusion. "Yu Dao cannot remain a Fire Nation colony, but neither do I think that the citizens should be forced to leave if they don't want to. To force families apart…I can't help but sympathise. I guess that means I'm on Yu Dao's side, but don't worry. I won't interfere unless people start to get hurt."
"Although I appreciate your honesty, I cannot agree with you. Kayo." He added with a friendly look. "The Earth Kingdom cannot accept being occupied by Fire Nation citizens. The four nations must be separate for there to be peace and harmony. The Avatar said so himself."
"That may have been true in the past, but now, things are very different. If you think about it, the nations aren't so separate anymore. There's been an increase in trade, more travel, people are marrying into other nations they weren't born to and having children, the world leaders are communicating more than ever before…a lot has changed since before the war." I reasoned lightly as we continued to fly over the troops. "And maybe, change isn't such a bad thing. To try and resist a reshaping world is just going to make things more difficult for everyone. In any case, you need to remember, your majesty, that whatever happens today will become part of your legacy as king. What kind of legacy do you wish to be remembered for?"
"My legacy?" Kuei lowered his head and sighed deeply, looking rather lost and helpless. "Being a ruler is hard." Knowing exactly how he felt, I walked over and smilingly placed my hand on his shoulder.
"Try being an advisor, especially Zuko's advisor. I swear he's more stubborn than an earth bender." I joked, making Kuei's face lift slightly.
"It is good that you have such a close relationship. Fire Lord Zuko must know how much he can trust you, whereas my own advisor plotted behind my back and kept the truth about the outside world from me. Although I know that my current ministers are far more trustworthy, it is still something I worry about."
"Well, if ever you are in need of help, my uncle is always in the upper ring of Ba Sing Se, and he can get a message to me. You can rest assured that I'll do anything I can to help if you're in trouble, and so will Aang." Nodding his head gratefully, we both turned to watch as the city of Yu Dao gradually came into view. Here it was. The deciding day of the fate of Yu Dao. There's no turning back now and there was nothing else I could do to slow down or persuade Kuei to reconsider. I'd done all I can, now the rest was up to Aang, I just hope he managed to persuade the Fire Nation citizens to leave in time.
