Chapter 44
The summit to decide the fate of the former Fire Nation colonies got underway with the opening speech from its host, the mayor of Yu Dao, Morishita, in which he gratefully thanked everyone in attendance for taking part in this momentous event. The mayor's speech was then followed by the opening remarks by all the leaders present at the summit, somewhat meaningless pleasantries, pure political fluff and time wasting, while everyone prepared for the real business ahead of them. After the introductory part was over, a short recess was called, and all the attendees filled the lounge once again. Zuko had been trying to intercept King Kuei without the presence of the Dai Li, but they were guarding him much closer than Zuko's own bodyguards, not letting anyone approach the king.
Once the recess was over, the delegates slowly began to return to the summit hall, and seeing Katara following the others, Zuko reached out to stop her, pulling his beloved consort aside. "Katara, a word," he whispered to her.
"Yes? What is it, Zuko?" she asked, looking at him in surprise.
"I've been watching the Earth King and the Dai Li all this time, and I'm starting to realize something," Zuko spoke, keeping his voice quiet. Katara was watching him intently. "He's under even more strict control by the Dai Li than I had expected. That can only mean one thing."
"What do you mean?" Katara asked, also keeping her voice down.
"If we force him to sign up for the project... I have a feeling that the Dai Li will decide that he is no longer useful to them as a puppet," Zuko spoke grimly.
"What, you think they're just going to... off him?" Katara gasped, looking around and hoping that nobody was listening in on them, but by now they were the last remaining people in the lounge.
"Why not?" Zuko shrugged. "If he won't do their bidding, they'll get rid of him and find an even more malleable puppet in his place. I absolutely expect them to do that."
"So what now?" Katara looked at him intently. "I like King Kuei, despite his flaws... does that mean we shouldn't force him into signing? That would be a terrible blow for our people in the colonies..."
"Yes, and for the Fire Nation, so... I don't know, what would you do, Katara?" Zuko asked, feeling uncertain.
"Let me see if I understand it correctly," Katara mused thoughtfully. "If it's a choice between preserving the life of a weak ruler who isn't even doing much for his own people, and improving the livelihood of thousands of people in the former colonies, then... maybe I'm becoming cold and callous, but I'm the royal consort of the Fire Lord. I don't see how I can betray the interests of the Fire Nation and its people."
"I hoped you would say that," Zuko gave her a relieved smile, reaching out and softly kissing her lips. "I'm glad we're of one mind on this. Now, let's go and clinch this deal for our people," he said, and together they returned to the summit hall where the other delegates were waiting on them.
As soon as everyone looked ready to proceed, Aang rose from his seat, the Avatar taking it upon himself to lead the proceedings. This suited Zuko perfectly well, he did not want to take the lead on this, as it would have created the impression that this was all a Fire Nation plot to rob the Earth Kingdom... which in a way it was.
"We have all had the time and opportunity to read the proposal for the fate of the former Fire Nation colonies," Aang began to speak. "I will now give floor to every representative to express their approval or disapproval with the proposed plan. To the dissenters, I would ask to provide their arguments, so that we can continue what will surely be a lively debate."
"The Southern Water Tribe approves of the proposal in its initial draft," Chieftain Hakoda spoke without any hesitation.
"The Northern Water Tribe are also happy to support the plan as it stands," Chieftain Arnook added with a firm nod of the head.
"The Fire Nation is in favor of the proposal. I would suggest a small change here and there, but overall, we are happy with it," Zuko said, not wanting to present himself as too eager in support of the plan.
"The Air Nation is obviously in favor of this idea as well, it represents exactly what the Avatar is supposed to stand for, balance, unity and cooperation between all of our nations," Aang said, nodding happily as he gave a hopeful stare to the very uncomfortable looking Earth King Kuei, a Dai Li agent whispering into his ear.
"Well... the Earth Kingdom is not happy, not at all happy!" Kuei squeaked nervously. "We are asked to surrender a great portion of our ancestral lands... which is not good... uh, I mean... really, rather unfair! The Earth Kingdom suffered more than anyone during the war-..."
"That's highly debatable, King Kuei," Hakoda injected angrily.
"The Air Nation was wiped out in a genocide! What are you talking about, King Kuei?" Aang glared at the king, who in response seemed to shrink into his seat.
"Well... it doesn't change that it's our land to begin with!" Kuei protested after another Dai Li stooge had whispered the right answer into his ear. "Many Earth Kingdom citizens are living in these territories and we want to protect them!"
"Where was this sentiment during the war, King Kuei?" Iroh spoke up, breaking his silence. "You were content to sit behind the walls of Ba Sing Se in safety, and you did not seem to care about the Earth Kingdom citizens on the wrong side of the walls."
"What? That's not true! I cared a lot! But I didn't even know there was a war going on!" Kuei protested, but was instead met with a lot of stony stares directed at him from all over the room. "Uh... nobody told me!" he tried to defend himself, all to no effect.
"That is a laughable defense," Chieftain Hakoda exclaimed angrily. "A good leader would never be blind to the suffering of his people. And you are still allowing yourself to be kept in the dark by those black clad bandits surrounding you," he pointed at the startled Dai Li agents. "You don't see any of us being told what to say by some lowly advisors, do you?"
"I, eh... that is, uh..." Kuei was sweating profusely by now. Zuko exchanged stares with Katara, unable to hide a smile. This was going much better than he had expected. It seemed like it wasn't even necessary for them to put any pressure on the Earth King, he had successfully managed to anger all the other attendees and draw their ire towards him.
"As far as I'm concerned, the Dai Li are not even supposed to be present in this meeting," Aang frowned. "We want to hear the opinion of the Earth King, not that of his secret police."
"These fine people have the best interests of Earth Kingdom at heart, I assure you," King Kuei protested after one of the agents had hastily whispered into his ear again.
"The same way Long Feng had your best interests at heart when he kept you in the dark about everything?" Aang scowled darkly, while Kuei winced at the reminder. "I insist that you dismiss your advisors immediately, King Kuei. Do I have support from the rest of the summit?" Everyone sans the Earth Kingdom delegation voiced their immediate agreement.
One of the Dai Li agents, by now looking very red in the face, shouted into Kuei's ear. "Umm, Avatar, they, uh... refuse to leave..." the king cringed as he spoke.
"Well... I know how to help with that," Aang's eyes were full of annoyance and irritation as gusts of wind formed around the Earth Kingdom's delegation, swirling tornadoes encircling the Dai Li agents and lifting them all helplessly off the ground. Another gust of wind tossed the doors wide open, and the next moment, the Dai Li agents were thrown out of the summit hall, crashing painfully in the wall as the door slammed shut in their faces. "Now we can talk like normal people, right? Isn't this much better, King Kuei?" he smiled at the nervous looking king.
"Ooh, they are going to be really, really upset..." Kuei still seemed very worried.
"Don't worry about it, after all, who's the ruler of the Earth Kingdom, you or the Dai Li?" Aang asked him.
"Well... I am! I think..." Kuei added, a little uncertainly.
"Of course, you are," Aang nodded. "King Kuei, you said that you must act in the best interests of the Earth Kingdom citizens. Wouldn't you then agree that the will of the people of the former Fire Nation colonies should also be respected first and foremost?"
"Well, sure, but..." Kuei gave in timidly.
"Well, the people here overwhelmingly support the former colonies becoming their own independent nation," Aang said passionately. "Zuko won't let me lie about the exact numbers... Zuko?" he looked at the Fire Lord.
"Let me see..." Zuko looked at his prepared notes. "About three out of four people in the colonies support the proposal for independence." Aang is doing an amazing job for the rest of us... but at this rate, he's also going to get Kuei assassinated, Zuko thought to himself.
"That's an overwhelming support, wouldn't you say so, King Kuei?" Aang smiled at the nervous king. "You have to respect the will of the people, especially when you said how important it is for you."
"I... suppose?" Kuei frowned uncertainly. "But... the Dai Li will want me to get something nice for the Earth Kingdom in return. Or else they'll be really angry..."
"But you will be getting a very important council seat in this new nation, through which you will be able to influence events to the benefit of the Earth Kingdom," Zuko finally jumped into the conversation. "And best of all, you'll be able to choose who gets to be the Earth Kingdom councilor."
"Oh... I'll get to nominate someone? I love delegating!" Kuei clapped his hands, looking excited. "Oh, and I have the perfect candidate in mind already!" he giggled like a madman.
"He means the bear, doesn't he?" Katara muttered quietly, meaning only for Zuko to hear it, but somehow Kuei managed to overhear it.
"Yes! How did you know, Lady Katara?" Kuei grinned broadly. "Bosco will be the perfect councilbear! I have practically groomed him for this role myself!"
"I, uh... don't know if a bear can serve on the council-..." Aang began with a confused look on his face, but Zuko quickly cut him off. This ridiculous idea of the councilbear had clearly won Kuei over and he wasn't going to let Aang spoil it all now.
"I'm sure Bosco will be perfectly suitable in his new role, the other councilors will be happy to work with him," Zuko said quickly. Besides, a bear should be easy to bribe with a pot of honey.
"In that case, we have an agreement! Where do I sign?" Kuei declared happily.
"Amazing... I'm glad to hear it, King Kuei!" Aang appeared very pleased, then looking at Zuko. "And Zuko here thought that this will take several days to accomplish!"
"Well, I am happy to be wrong on this, Aang," Zuko smiled amiably. And it would have taken days if you hadn't been so helpful and thrown the Dai Li out, so... thanks, old friend.
"We are all very pleased with this outcome," Chieftain Arnook added. "Now, where do we sign?" he asked.
"Over here, my Lords," one of Morishita's secretaries spoke up, pointing at a small alcove where five copies of the prepared document rested on a table, waiting to be signed. All five leaders of their respective nations then walked up to the alcove and quickly signed all the copies, each receiving one of them for safekeeping and proof of the historic moment.
"I'm sure there will be more details to iron out over the coming days, such as the name of this new nation, and which of the colonies should serve as its capital," Iroh spoke up. "But right now, I would like to invite everyone for a feast in the lounge to celebrate the momentous occasion."
"Surely the city of Yu Dao deserves to be the government center of this new nation," Mayor Morishita spoke hopefully as the delegates all filed into the lounge.
"I'm not sure about that, mayor, this city is really cramped in this narrow valley and there's no room to expand any further," Zuko replied, crushing the mayor's hopes. "And we expect that the capital of this new nation will grow rapidly. Yu Dao is important, but it's just not well suited for the role of a capital."
"Zuko is right," Aang nodded in agreement. "In fact, the fastest growing settlement is the Cranefish Town. It's ideally located on the sea coast, in the Yue Bay. It has a booming industry, boosted by the refinery of Toph's father, and it has lots and lots of natural resources... I think it would make the perfect capital!"
"It seems you have put a lot of thought into it, Aang," Katara smiled at the Avatar. "It does sound like a great choice."
"Thanks, Katara," Aang smiled back at her. "I'm just so happy everything went so smoothly! I can't wait to get started on putting this new nation together! And I'll want to know who the other councilors will be, you guys will need to let me know soon! So far I only know that I'll have to work with a bear..." The others merely laughed at this absurd mental image as the feast in the lounge truly got underway.
A couple of hours later, slightly tipsy Katara and Zuko managed to escape the attention of the others and slowly found their way back to their quarters, both of them feeling somewhat mentally exhausted from all the politicking. "So, that went much better than expected, didn't it?" Katara asked him as they walked tightly embraced. "And we barely had to do anything!"
"Yes, Aang did all the heavy lifting, spirits bless him," Zuko smiled at his beloved.
"I just hope that he doesn't feel really bad if the Dai Li really decide to remove Kuei," Katara frowned. "Or... what if that happens and then Aang realizes that we knew it might happen and didn't tell him?"
"Oh... right," Zuko froze in his path, Katara also coming to a stop. "Damn, I didn't think of that. Aang is a really bright kid, he'll surely realize that... ugh, that's... not great."
"And we had just patched things up with him so well," Katara sighed. "But... whatever happens, we acted in the interests of our people, as we should, right? I don't want to return to the road of crippling self doubt again, and I don't feel like I have to on this matter, regardless of what happens."
"I could not agree with you more, my love," Zuko smiled, giving Katara a firm hug that led into a quickly deepening passionate kiss. Slightly red in the face, they continued further down the corridor, eventually reaching their quarters. Both of them had forgotten about Azula being present, so they entered without knocking, Zuko blinking when he saw Azula sitting right next to Sokka, their heads nearly touching as his sister listened enraptured to one of Sokka's particularly tall tales. At their arrival, Azula and Sokka pulled a little further apart from one another, blushing slightly.
"What did I tell you, Sokka, she's not that scary anymore, is she?" Katara chuckled.
"Well, she's still a bit scary, but I can handle a bit scary," Sokka laughed back as Azula just grinned broadly.
"It's just nice to see you hitting it off so well," Zuko remarked, feeling genuinely happy for his sister showing that she was starting to become capable of playing nice with others.
"Yup, your brother is pretty fun, Katara, and has a sense of humor," Azula laughed. "Are you sure you have the same parents?"
"I am way funnier than Sokka," Katara frowned.
"My love, you are many things, but you're not that," Zuko shook his head at her.
"Oh, stabbed in the back by my own boyfriend," Katara glared at him. "That's it, tonight you're sleeping on the sofa and Azula's sleeping in the bed with me."
"Hey, that works for me, that bed is so much softer!" Azula exclaimed happily. "Anyway, how did that summit of yours worked out?"
"It was a surprising success, Aang pressed Kuei into signing and our project has been approved," Zuko replied, grinning like a fool.
"Sokka, that means you'll get to not only name the new nation, but you'll also get to realize your long-held dream... to rename Cranefish Town," Katara laughed.
"What, really?!" Sokka blinked. "Yes!" he pumped his fist excitedly. "I can't wait to get started on brainstorming!"
"Ooh, does this mean I'll get to serve as Councilor Azula?" Zuko's sister gasped. "I can't wait to bring some order to this backwater!" she cracked her knuckles meaningfully.
"You'll get to do exactly that, and you'll be serving alongside Avatar Aang and a bear named Bosco," Zuko grinned at his sister.
Azula blinked at him. "You're shitting me now, Zuzu." Zuko and Katara shook their heads simultaneously. "Alright, you're not shitting me. That sounds crazy, but awesome!"
"We're still looking for a possible Southern Water Tribe councilor," Katara said, giving her brother a meaningful stare. "It's a very rewarding position, Sokka. You might end up spending a lot of time with a certain newly appointed Fire Nation representative... but if you want the role, you should speak with dad as soon as possible."
Sokka's eyes widened and the next moment before anyone knew, he was already out the door. "Dad! Dad, wait up! I need to talk to you!" his shouts could be heard further down the corridor.
"I think someone just might have a little crush on you, sister," Zuko pointed out with a huge grin on his face.
"Well, there's another good reason why you're sleeping on the sofa tonight, Zuzu," Azula winked at him, then turning around and starting to pull a laughing Katara towards the bed. "Come on, Katara, let's get tucked in and then you'll give me the scoop on all the things that make Sokka tick."
"Nothing would please me more, Azula," Katara smiled, shooting a slightly apologetic glance to Zuko, but he was more than happy to let the two girls have some bonding time together... even if that meant a slightly lonelier night on the sofa.