Chapter 41: The Avatar's Proposal
When the colony negotiation committee reconvened in the Fire Nation, the first thing they found was that the appeals court had been a complete bust. Nearly every claimant who disagreed with the governor's judgement appealed his case, crying favoritism, which quickly made the court overloaded and ineffective. The governor of Yu Dao had submitted a letter of protest to the group, claiming that the existence of the court undermined his legitimacy and ability to do his job. Zuko bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from saying "I told you so."
They spent a couple days simply listening to the colonial citizens who had been invited to share their stories. Zuko had asked some of his correspondents to come, and Keui had done the same, so that both countries had citizens represented. Most of them had heartwarming stories of hard work paying off, of acceptance, and integration, and the creation of something fascinating and new, but a few told tales of exploitation, inequality, and discrimination. Aang and his friends left discouraged, wondering how those situations could be prevented in a land of such diversity.
Zuko invited Aang and Sokka to his sitting room to unwind with some tea after a long morning meeting was over.
"So, your fieriness, have you changed your mind since we were in Ba Sing Se?" Sokka wondered.
"What do you mean?"
"You still want to give up your claim on the colonies entirely?"
"Yes," Zuko responded carefully. "But I'm still not sure how to phrase it so that King Keui will do the same."
"But if you give them up, and King Keui gives then up, then who do they belong to?" Sokka questioned.
"To the people who live there." Aang answered reasonably.
"That might be the best solution, but only if that's what they want." The Water Tribe boy stipulated.
"Agreed." Zuko nodded. "If they're willing to do the hard work of governing themselves. And if they don't have loyalty to the Earth Kingdom."
"Then you think they should be independent?" Aang asked.
"Yes, that's a good way to put it." Sokka put in. "My dad told me how a village used to split when it got too big and sprawling, so that it would become two villages, independent of each other, each with its own elected leadership. It was kind of a theoretical discussion; that hasn't happened in the South for several generations…."
"So you think if we phrase it this way, the colonies becoming their own independent nation, that King Keui would be more likely to accept it and let them go peacefully?" Zuko asked.
"It might be your best bet." Sokka answered. "As long as you can make it seem like he's not losing anything."
"Yeah, that's the problem." Zuko sighed. "He feels entitled to those lands. For good reason."
"And anything you say, his advisors jump all over it," Sokka rolled his eyes.
"What if I weren't the one to say it?" Zuko mused, turning to Aang. "You're neutral. If independence is presented as your idea, it would be a lot harder for King Keui to say no. At least, he'd think it over, rather than rejecting it out of hand."
"All right. I can do that, Zuko." The airbender nodded.
"We should prepare for pushback," Sokka warned.
"What do you mean?" Aang looked worried.
"The first suggestion of independence will possibly be the most dangerous moment of these talks." Sokka explained. "It could descend fairly quickly to declarations of war."
Other two were silent a moment, knowing he could be right. They were war veterans who knew from history that the conclusion of one conflict often merely sowed the seeds for the next one. They also understood that their friendship could be on the line as well. It had taken a strange confluence of circumstances to bring the three together in the middle of one war; fighting on opposite sides of another conflict would certainly spell the end of cozy afternoons sharing tea.
"If Keui starts a war to get the colonies back, would you fight?" Aang asked the Fire Lord solemnly.
"No," Zuko told him decisively. "I don't believe my country has any right to them."
"What would you do, if war broke out between the Earth Kingdom and colonists who want independence?" Sokka wondered.
"Stay out of it." Zuko answered, a little more slowly. "If I wouldn't fight to keep them as colonies, then I certainly couldn't fight for their independence. My soldiers would have no interest in matters that don't concern us. There is a strong isolationist sentiment on the rise in the Fire Nation currently." He explained. "I haven't encouraged or discouraged it, but it's growing. I think it's mostly a good thing, but it's also a bit of an overcorrection. If we turn inward and focus on our own affairs, that means we aren't causing trouble in other parts of the world the way we have been for the past century, which is certainly a positive development. But it also means we wouldn't be disposed to help those who may need it, even allies or countrymen." Zuko went on, a bit more reflective. "In spite of that, in the event of war, I'd want to do my best to help in a humanitarian way. Without involving the military. Support those with ties to the Fire Nation peacefully. It would probably mean accepting lots of refugees, more than my country could possibly absorb without causing widespread hardship." It was the kind of scenario that kept the young monarch up at night. He would spiral from food shortages to protests, to violent unrest, to civil war, to his own assassination, to Aang and the others fallen or captured in his defense, to Mai and Nozomi jailed, and Roku used as a puppet, or perhaps even worse, his father's return to power…..
Seeing the shadow fall over his friend's face, Aang clapped him on the shoulder to snap him out of it. "We're with you, Zuko."
"Let's iron out the details," Sokka began. "What would this new country look like, and how do we spin it so that everyone thinks it's the greatest idea of all time?"
A couple evenings later, Aang and Katara cuddled on the couch in his suite. When the airbender told his girlfriend how nervous he was to make his proposal to the committee, she offered to go to the meeting to offer moral support.
"I already heard that Mai, and Suki, and even Toph are going, so I should too." She pointed out.
"Yeah, but the hospital is a better use of your time," He shook his head. "You could be saving lives instead of just watching me talk."
"It's not like I'm the only one who works at the hospital. We're a team." She explained. "If I'm not on the job, someone else will do the work, and the patients will be fine. You do want me to be there, don't you?" He looked down, sheepish, too shy to admit that he did. "I want to be there for you. I want to see you in action."
"You've seen me in action plenty times." He responded modestly.
"A new kind of action. Hopefully the only kind of action you ever see from now on: peacemaking. My boyfriend the diplomat." Aang felt his chest swell with pride, whether because he was proud of bringing peace, or because she was the one praising him, he didn't know. "And I know you're going to be just as good at that second job as you are at the first." She finished with a kiss on his cheek.
"I'm a good boyfriend?" He asked, a smile stealing over his lips.
"The best ever." Katara assured him.
He burst out laughing, delighted. Months ago, when Sokka had given him reason to doubt her commitment, he'd decided to make a secret project of becoming the perfect partner for her. And now she was telling him spontaneously, unprompted, that he'd succeeded. Even though Sokka had taken back his dire prediction, and Aang hadn't felt insecure in that way for a while, her words still meant the world to him. "Really?" He asked for confirmation, almost giddy.
"Of course!" She replied brightly. "I mean, I don't have a point of comparison. But I don't want any."
He squeezed her shoulders. "You're a great girlfriend too."
"Because I'm willing to take a day off from a demanding job to watch you give a speech? You set the bar pretty low."
"No, I've asked around, and you really are the best girlfriend of all time." He reiterated.
"Who did you ask?" She imagined him talking to Sokka or Zuko about her, which seemed like it might have been awkward.
"My past lives. I told them all about you."
"Wow," she was taken aback. "That's….very flattering." It had almost cosmic significance, to be accepted as the Avatar's partner among the thousands of partners of past Avatars. Aang didn't have any living family to introduce her to, so this was the next closest thing, and she was honored.
"Remember, I said you would measure up," he reminded her of her silly insecurity from their first date.
She leaned in for a kiss. Just as their embrace was about to deepen, there was a knock at the door. They pulled apart and arranged themselves in a more proper posture, before Aang called out, "Come in!"
It was Sokka. "Zuko sent me to get you, buddy. He wants to go over the proposal draft one more time." He rolled his eyes, letting them know what he thought of their friend's perfectionism.
The couple got up from the couch. "See you at breakfast tomorrow morning before the big meeting, then?" Aang asked Katara.
"Sure," she gave him a quick peck on the lips, heading for the door. Then she paused when she got close to her brother. "You…..knocked." She observed suspiciously.
"Yeah, I knocked." Her brother glanced to the side, as if that had been a normal thing for him to do.
"You didn't barge in like you usually do."
"I guess I…..realized that I appreciated how the servants knock on my door when I'm with Suki…" Sokka seemed embarrassed.
"Since when have you ever put yourself in my shoes and adjusted your actions accordingly?" Katara crossed her arms.
"I can be considerate!" Her brother argued.
"Of course you can, you just never choose to."
"I choose to be considerate of the people I trust," Sokka stuck his nose in the air.
"Then why is this new?" Katara inquired skeptically.
"Maybe it's not you I'm trust, it's him," Sokka pointed to her boyfriend.
"Of all the patriarchal bullshit-" Katara began, reddening in fury.
Aang put his hand on her arm to try to help her calm down. "Sweetie, isn't the effect the same? He's showing respect for our relationship. We appreciate your consideration for our privacy, Sokka." Aang bowed formally.
"You're very welcome, Aang." Sokka bowed in response, showing pointed politeness to the airbender as if it were a jab against his sister. "It's so nice to be appreciated. Your gratitude makes me want to continue to….knock on doors."
"Yeah, yeah. Zuko's waiting." The waterbender waved them away impatiently.
Sokka elbowed Aang on the way down the hall away from his sister. "Hey, if you can get her to calm down and stop fighting…"
"You think she was the only one I was manipulating into de-escalation?" The Avatar shot his friend a crooked grin.
Sokka's eyes widened and he laughed. "Oh, you're good!"
The meeting room buzzed with activity, as the delegates greeted each other, but the Avatar sat silent in his chair, staring into space.
"Ready to make history, buddy?" Sokka clapped his hand on Aang's shoulder, but was surprised when he saw panic in his younger friend's eyes. "Are you ok?" Sokka whispered, seeing his sweat.
"I don't know," Aang swallowed. The most dangerous moment of these talks, Sokka had said. The airbender was surprised to feel more intimidated than he ever had, including by a comet-powered Ozai. He'd had a sense of relief and inevitability entering that battle, and he'd been in his customary defensive position; now he was taking the initiative to stir things up. If his poor delivery failed to convince anyone, or if he and his friends were wrong about what was best for the world, his words could spark a global conflict, and that was so much worse than facing a physical confrontation, risking only his own life. He might be about to undo everything he'd achieved since waking from his frozen sleep, throwing the world into chaos worse than the war he'd just ended.
"I could do it instead," the Water Tribe boy offered. "I mean, I can't speak as the transcendent voice of ancient historical wisdom, but at least they won't say I'm biased, unlike Zuko."
Aang caught Katara's eyes in the crowd. She smiled at him, and suddenly he felt capable of anything. "No, I can do it. This should come from the Avatar." Sokka nodded and took his seat.
After the meeting was called to order, Aang was the first on the agenda to speak.
He stood and began. "I would like to propose the creation of an independent nation on the disputed territories. This new country would have no ties to either the Earth Kingdom or the Fire Nation, except those of friendship and trade. On this land, some of which was sacred to my people, firebenders, earthbenders, waterbenders, nonbenders, and…..maybe someday more than one airbender, would be welcome to build their dreams. Not separately, but together." His voice grew in strength and enthusiasm as he realized how deeply he believed in the ideals underlying the proposal. "As one community united not by common ancestry, but by mutual love, and a vision of the beautiful harmony that can be achieved only through embracing diversity."
The Avatar's utopian vision was met with stony silence.
"I second the motion." Zuko broke the tense quiet. "As far as I am concerned, this proposal solves our dilemma at its root and represents a fair compromise. My country has no moral claim to occupy and rule this land, and I am willing to give up any legal or historical interest the Fire Nation may have, in order to right the wrongs of the past. I believe an independent nation, especially one with a constitution that puts all citizens on equal legal standing, regardless of their country of origin, would be the best path forward for the entire world."
There was another moment of quiet, and then all at once, an uproar among the Earth Kingdom delegation. Keui's advisors protested:
"Equality is not possible when you're dealing with the Fire Nation!"
"Legal equality is not enough to make up for a century of colonial oppression!"
"These lands rightfully belong to the Earth Kingdom!"
King Keui held up his hand for his people to quiet so he could speak. He looked right at Zuko, his eyes steely behind his glasses. "Well, Fire Lord? Will you send your army to prevent these territories from being reabsorbed into the Earth Kingdom?"
Aang jumped in, so that Zuko wouldn't have to answer. "Let's not even discuss under what circumstances and for what reasons we'll go to war. Violence is not an option. From the beginning, the whole point of these meetings has been to peacefully transition the colonies into….something else. We all agree—even Zuko, to his credit—that these territories should not continue to be under the control of the Fire Nation. And today we have some help we didn't have when we were meeting in Ba Sing Se. We have several people in this room who came from the colonies exactly for the purpose of telling us what they and their communities want. Maybe now would be a good time to hear from them."
There followed a quick survey of the colonial citizens at the meeting. Most of them were a bit at a loss about the idea of independence, since it was the first time they'd ever heard about it. Despite this, they were open to learning more about it. A few said that whether they would support independence or not would depend a lot on what kind of government the new nation would have, which seemed perfectly reasonable. There were only a couple people who were adamantly for or against Aang's proposal.
"Maybe the people of the colonies should be the ones to decide for themselves." The airbender offered. That felt like another compromise, another fair and neutral proposal from the Avatar.
"But how can they decide if they don't agree?" King Keui asked, confused.
"They could have an election." Sokka suggested.
So that was how it was decided that a referendum would be held, in which the people who lived in the cities formerly colonized by the Fire Nation, would decide their own destiny.
Author's Note: Sorry if the chapter title had you expecting a marriage proposal! I hope the sweet Kataang scene made up for it.
Please leave me a review!
Next week: The Gaang revisits the Fire Nation school