Fire Nation Royal Road
Fire Lord Zuko
Zuko took a deep breath and stared down at himself, smoothing the elaborate Fire Lord ceremonial robes he was wearing. The procession was to start soon, but Aang wasn't there.
The Avatar was off in the Southern Earth Kingdom, and he might well be battling Zuko's crazy sister at that very moment. I should have gone. The wedding can wait. But Aang had told him that he could handle it. He'd promised to be back in time. But he wasn't.
Someone knocked on the door. "Come in." he called, his head coming up.
It was Katara and Ursa. Zuko stood from the stool he'd been on. "Do you need something?"
Ursa sighed. "I know you really want the Avatar to be here to marry you, but there is no sign of him. The scouts on the fringe territories haven't seen his sky bison. He won't make it in time."
Katara looked as glum as Zuko felt. "This is taking longer than it was supposed to," she said. "I hope he's all right. If we are right and it is Azula that he's facing…"
"He's the Avatar," Zuko said, putting confidence in his voice. "Aang defeated my father and many others. He can handle anything. He'll be back. He promised."
"Is there a way to delay the proceedings?" Katara wondered. Ursa shook her head. "We've already delayed things three hours," she said. "We just can't anymore."
Zuko's shoulders slumped. He'd really wanted Aang to be there.
Ursa pulled him into a brief hug. "It'll turn out all right," she said. "I'm so proud of you."
Zuko took a deep breath and walked forward. "You're right," he said. "We need to start. We can have a Fire Sage do the ceremony. It's more traditional, after all."
The procession was ready to begin. Guests, dancers, rhinos, and spectators would form a massive procession headed by Zuko and Mai on a palanquin. They would travel down the Royal Road, through the palace gates, and to the Pavilion of Ancestors where they would be married.
Zuko, standing by the palanquin, glanced around. Katara was standing not too far away, looking poised and elegant in a flowing blue dress studded with pearls and a matching pearl necklace. Next to her was a strange woman – it took Zuko a moment to realize it was Toph. He'd never seen her look so dressed up before. She was wearing a beautiful forest green dress with a trailing skirt and a layered bodice. A single glittering emerald hung around her neck on a thin chain, and her hair was… down. It was long, flowing down her back. Her bangs were caught to one side with a small gold clip.
The Kyoshi Warriors were scattered strategically through the crowd, wearing fancier versions of their usual uniforms. Sokka was next to Katara, looking handsome in a stylized blue tunic. The ever-present Boomerang was in its sheath on his back, and he appeared to have traded his space sword's usual utilitarian sheath for a fancy blue and gold job with elaborate embossing.
Uncle Iroh was standing not too far away. He gave Zuko a beaming smile as their eyes met. He looked almost regal in his fancy dress robes, a small golden hairpiece in his topknot. Next to him was Master Piandao and another member of the White Lotus that Zuko didn't know.
Zuko turned and drew in a breath as he saw Mai approaching, assisted by several handmaids and Zuko's mother. Mai was wearing a magnificent red dress studded with jewels and shimmering, trailing fabric. Intricate gold embroidery looped around the neckline and the ends of the long sleeves, depicting swooping dragons and the characters for good luck and fortune. Her hair was pulled up into a plaited bun and held with a glittering cluster of flowers and jewels. A single small red fire lily was tucked into her hair over her ear, a traditional symbol of luck. A gold necklace hung with red garnets wreathed her neck. A thin gold veil draped over her face and trailed down her back, almost to the ground.
She was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
"You're gaping," she said in a low voice as she came up to him, a smile playing on her face.
"Everyone should be," he said. "You look…" He couldn't even begin to describe it.
"That bad?"
"No!" He shook his head. "No, you look amazing."
She smiled, dipping her head, and went around to the other side of the palanquin. A servant hurried forward with a stepstool that she mounted, then settled herself into the palanquin. The servant brought the steps around to the other side, and Zuko went to mount.
"Look!" someone nearby suddenly yelled over the noise of the crowd. "Look! Someone in the sky!"
Zuko's heart leaped, and he craned to look up. A small figure was descending, spiraling down on a blue-winged glider that matched the sky. "It's Aang," he whispered, smiling so broadly he thought his face would split. "He made it."
The noise level was increasing as more people spotted the Avatar. He swooped down and landed near Zuko in an empty space, stumbling as he landed.
Zuko pushed through the crowd, reaching Aang at the same time as Katara, Sokka, and Toph. "Aang!" he said. "You made it!"
Aang was leaning on his staff, breathing hard. His robes were filthy and singed, and he looked exhausted. "Yeah," he said. He looked up, meeting Zuko's eyes. "It wasn't her," he said, and Zuko felt a wave of relief coupled with strange disappointment. It hadn't been Azula.
"What happened to you?" Katara asked, touching Aang's shoulder. "You look terrible!"
Aang winced at the touch, and Katara frowned, pulling his robes up so she see his shoulder. A wound sliced across it, his skin caked with dry blood. "Aang, you're hurt!" She immediately pulled water from her waterskin and set glowing hands on the wound. "Where's Appa?"
Aang relaxed as her healing took effect. "I left him on Kyoshi Island. He was too tired to keep going.
Sokka's eyes widened. "You flew all the way to the Fire Nation on your glider?"
Aang nodded. "Nothing was going to keep me from my best friend's wedding," he said, steel in his voice. "Nothing. I would have fought the entire Earth Kingdom and crawled here on hands and knees if I had to." He gave Zuko a dusty smile, and Zuko was startled to feel tears prick his eyes. "Thank you," he whispered.
Toph stepped forwards. "You're exhausted, Twinkletoes," she said. "You need to sit down before you fall over."
How could I be so inconsiderate? Zuko pointed towards the palaces west wing next to them, where Katara, Toph, and Soka were staying. "You can go in there and get cleaned up and rest for a while. You need it."
Aang straightened up as Katara lifted her hands off his shoulder, leaving a faint scar. "No," he said. "I'll feel better once I've cleaned up. I can take my place in the wedding."
"Are you sure?" Katara asked, and he nodded. She led him off towards the nearest door.
Zuko and Mai stood together in front of Aang, who was dressed in ceremonial orange robes. As the ceremony proceeded, the crowd was silent save for the occasional cough or rhino snorting.
Finally, Aang tied Zuko's right wrist to Mai's left wrist with a red thread and said, "You are now united in marriage." Zuko and Mai stood up, turning to face the crowd. He raised their joined wrists to the sky.
There was a long moment of silence. Even the coughing and snorting had stopped. Then Zuko tapped Mai on the shoulder. She turned to look at him, and he kissed her. She kissed him back, and the entire crowd exploded into deafening cheering. Fireworks boomed in the darkening sky. Katara was laughing and crying, Aang was wearing a massive grin, Sokka was whooping, Toph stood with a smirk on her face, Ursa was sobbing into a handkerchief. Uncle Iroh was wiping his eyes. Piandao looked proud.
The procession finally turned and started towards the palace. They would change into their feast clothes, and then the receiving line would start, guests congratulating the couple and giving them their wedding gifts. The feasting would continue for three days and nights, and all over the Fire Nation people celebrated.
