Canta per me addio

Quel dolce suono

De' passati giorni

Mi sempre rammenta

Canta Per Me, Yuki Kaijura

Five white envelopes laid over the table side by side in an orderly manner. In each envelope a handwritten name, the calligraphy bold, clear and straight.

Ms. Asami Sato, Chief Executive Officer of Future Industries

Zhu Li Moon, President of Republic City

Suyin Beifong

Opal Beifong

Baatar Beifong Jr.

The dark haired woman held the first two and placed them on a tray designated for the outgoing mail. Each envelope was carefully sealed. A ream of paper and some pens were at the ready at the left side of the table and Kuvira now stared at the remaining three empty envelopes. A single sheet of paper and a black pen stood unused in front of her. She let out a long sigh and proceeded to collect the writing materials back into its pile and the empty envelopes to another tray. She paused for a moment with the last envelope in her hands, the one with Baatar's name as her mind transported her to a moment when the future was still unwritten and happiness seemed bright and inevitable.

-oOo-

The captain of the Zaofu guards couldn't stop giggling. She was getting sort of annoyed because she wasn't certainly the giggling type but wasn't sure why it was happening. She didn't know whether to blame the now nonexistent contents of the bottle beside the bed, her present quarters (in temporary loan from a former Earth Kingdom bureaucrat), or her present company. Perhaps it was a combination of all three since Baatar could not stop laughing either, only pausing to pay attention to her neck and lips.

After victory was formally announced and the last stronghold had surrendered to her forces, her camp and their allies had started an impromptu celebration that went on for long hours until the first morning light. The opportunity to share with the Earth Nation people the path towards unity and progress was finally at hand and everyone felt compelled to celebrate this most auspicious beginning.

"Has anyone told you how cute you look with glasses?" Baatar murmured against her ear, trying to remember when she stole them from his face.

"I think you just did." She smiled inwardly. He looked cute when totally smashed. He had never been good at holding his liquor, unlike her who by the time she had been made captain was already used to sneaking out with the sergeants to celebrate every guard's promotion and award. Baatar had been to her promotion celebration and it had been evident he lacked their practice in imbuing spirits but she didn't care because that day he had felt emboldened enough by liquid courage to confess what she felt for her. Suyin never suspected her eldest son, who was expected to marry into one of Zaofu's prestigious families, was instead dating her protégé under her nose and under her roof. The shock in her face had been genuine when she realized that Baatar had more than patriotic duty as justification to leave with Kuvira's group. Su had accused her of brainwashing her son but in this she was completely wrong. A mother's love sometimes can shield from acknowledging unpleasant truths, and the unpleasant truth here was that she didn't know her son as well as she thought she did. Baatar had confided in her his patriotic fervor and frustration at not being able to contribute beyond his city's boundaries long before they were an item. He too had felt too sheltered and limited and was as impatient as her to move beyond the shimmering silver domes of their marvel city and into the outside world where they could truly make a difference and leave a mark. Suyin had done it with Zaofu and now it was their chance to do the same but for the whole Earth Kingdom.

"Can you believe it? We really did this!" Kuvira said, snuggling closer to Baatar. She noticed he had put on some muscle since they left Zaofu and had to face the rigors of military campaign. It suited him well, she appraised smilingly as she ran a hand over his arm and shoulder.

"I knew our victory was inevitable. We bring a new future of stability and prosperity. The other nations will no longer look down on us," Baatar replied. The dark haired captain stared at her lover intently. In moments like this, his face would transform from the bespectacled unassuming engineer to a passionate ideologue and she could watch him for countless hours transfixed, listening as he laid out his ideas in stunning clarity. It was fated for them to be together to lead their nation into this new era of prosperity and order.

"So that's why you managed to set aside a couple of bottles from the royal cellars. You knew we were heading to a celebration, not to mention securing this place."

Baatar recovered his glasses from Kuvira's face and put them on, as a hand absentmindedly played with the long strands of hair that fell over her temple.

"Kuvira," his voice no longer seemed affected by the effects of alcohol. "Are you ready for what's to come? Will you accept the burden that will be laid upon you?" There were rumors that she was being considered for the position of provisional head of state, most likely the work of their wealthy benefactors from Zaofu who now stood to become the most influential movers and shakers of the Earth Kingdom. A nation could not move forward with a power vacuum and she seemed like the most logical option for the need at hand after the first choice turned her back on the call to service.

"With you I can."

"I will be with you every step of the way. I want to witness our nation's rise from turmoil and I want to see you leading it. Mother will learn too late of her mistake." His voice grew harsh and cold with the last words. She could sense the disappointment, the pain and anger that drenched every syllable. She had been hurt by Su's refusal to lead their country in its time of need but Baatar had been utterly devastated and heartbroken.

"She might come around once she sees what we've accomplished so far and what we plan to do."

Baatar had shifted so now he was towering over Kuvira. "I would prefer that to happen but that's not important now. We must remain focused on achieving our goals. We can't look back now. This is bigger than you or me or the two of us. No matter what, you must never forget why we left our family and our home, why we abandoned the lives we had to face the unknown."

The tone in his voice was earnest, almost solemn. She caressed a firm cheek already covered in dark stubble.

"Never forget what we came here for and don't let anything or anyone stand in the way. Do you understand?"

"I do. I won't allow it."

I won't allow it, she had vowed that morning in the dawn of their new empire. Three years later she had to prove to her lover and to herself she had indeed not forgotten her promise, and that her will was as resolute as ever. Their shared dream, their purpose was what mattered above all. Certainly the man who was beseeching her to stop just when they were so close from complete victory wasn't the Baatar who had painstakingly engineered their path towards total unity of their nation. He would never allow the love he felt for her to undermine their shared vision. She would honor his true intent and the purity of his ideal even if she had to sacrifice his own life to preserve it. The deeply held conviction had made her sanity dance dangerously on the fine edge between earnestness and madness.

Tempra la cetra e canta

Il inno di morte

A noi si schiude il ciel

Volano al raggio

"See my love? I did not forget" she mused inwardly as the impeccably polished barrel of the weapon pointed towards the warehouse.

-oOo-

A single envelope laid over the table on a separate corner. The characters that had been so carefully written were now almost illegible, black ink bleeding downwards, scattered dried water marks still noticeable over the smooth surface. It was left unmoved there for days until the owner finally secured it between the pages of a book, not to be taken out again.