General Mak's garden wedding ceremony had been a pleasant affair, but now rain began to spot from a leaden sky. Thunder rolled in the distance, worsening Zuko's headache, and he twitched uncomfortably, getting distracted from Generals Shinu and Mung pestering him about who should replace General Taiyo.

Shinu glanced up. "Time to go inside."

"It's only a few spots," said Mung. "As I was saying, Colonel Meng has quite a bit of experience..." Zuko listened with one ear as the two generals expounded on the virtues of their favorite candidates to replace the recently-demoted General Taiyo. Zuko wondered if either candidate could be trusted not to set food on fire the way Taiyo's troops had.

They were at the far end of the garden from the house. Thunder crashed, a lot closer, and lightning flashed. Zuko's heart skipped a beat.

"I'm going inside," said Zuko. "It's going to start pouring in a minute or two." He and Shinu turned and headed for the house, Mung trailing behind them. They'd made it about halfway there when the skies opened, and lightning flashed, far too close.

Zuko stumbled a little, suddenly feeling like he couldn't breathe. Lightning and water... he could hear Azula's crazed laughter in the shrill scream of the wind. Not here, not now, thought Zuko. She's not here. I'm safe; I just need to get in the house. Where's the house? He peered through the rain-lashed dimness and saw it ahead and to his left. He gave up on dignity and bolted for the door. Someone was yelling, but Zuko wasn't listening. He had almost made it when the entire sky flashed white for a moment, and he saw his sister's terrible smile as the lightning crackled around her as she shifted her aim...

Hina heard a yell and looked up to see the door fly open with a bang as the Fire Lord fell through into the room and collapsed onto the floor in a heap of soaked finery, gasping irregularly, and clutching at his chest with one hand.

She dropped her wine glass in surprise, and it shattered, staining the floor. Everyone stood stunned for a moment. "What the!" someone cried. Hina stood, but before she could get there, Mak had knelt down next to Zuko. "Fire Lord, can you hear me?"

Zuko didn't respond, but flinched when Mak touched his wrist. He shouldn't be that pale. "Ming-Ming, Satoru, get a doctor," Mak said, "now!" A couple of people detached themselves from the crowd and went running away.

Generals Mung and Shinu stood in the doorway, staring down at the Fire Lord with shocked expressions, and a couple of Imperial firebender guards pushed past them. One knelt down beside Zuko, while the other stood looking daggers at anyone who might seek to take advantage of the situation.

"What happened?" demanded Qin from near the buffet.

"I don't know!" said Shinu. "One minute he was fine, then when the lightning was overhead, he just bolted, and..." he gestured.

Zuko groaned, his breathing slower now, and opened unfocused eyes. "Either help or back off," said the guard kneeling beside him. "Err... General Mak, do you have a room away from this crowd? Preferably with a bed, and dry blankets."

"Yes, of course. Through the door on the left. Though perhaps..." Mak got to his feet and looked out into the storm. He shook his head, and went and closed the door. The sound of the storm lessened a little.

Zuko tried to sit up, looking around dazed. The guard helped him. Zuko leaned heavily against him, and closed his eyes again, still terribly pale. "Easy. We're just going to take you into another room where you can rest more comfortably, okay?"

Zuko nodded. The two guards supported him between them, and Mak's new bride closed the door firmly behind them.

Everyone left in the main room looked at each other. What a terrible omen for Mak and Atira! And what was wrong with the Fire Lord? Hina knew he'd been injured in his fight with Princess Azula, could it be that? A heart attack? Surely not, he was far too young. Outside, a flash of lightning lit the windows for an instant.

There was a bit of hushed murmuring, but no one seemed inclined to speculate too loudly, or talk about anything else. Qin had moved over to Mung and Shinu, and was talking to them in hushed voices. Qin's face was grim, but Hina didn't like the way his eyes were glittering.

Zuko was up within minutes and trying to pretend nothing had happened, but the story got everywhere within hours. Of course, the details changed with each teller.

"The Fire Lord collapsed with a heart attack at General Mung's wedding, and nearly died!" a dishwasher told the assistant pastry chef in a hushed voice.

"The Fire Lord is terrified of lightning. Had to be put to bed like a little boy," said the scribe.

"That can't be right. Doesn't he know some strange technique for redirecting it?" said the palace guard. "Couldn't do that if he's too scared to think straight. Don't believe everything you hear."

"The whole thing's got to be overblown. I bet he just tripped on something and fell over, and because he's the Fire Lord everybody's making a big fuss," said the messenger, nodding knowingly.

"His sister nearly killed him with lightning during the Agni Kai. I heard he has dizzy spells and barely sleeps or eats – the guards and the servants are watching him like a hawk because he's still weak. He probably just fainted."

"I take it that you agree that something must be done?" said a thin man with a sour expression.

Opposite him, a white-haired man in ornate robes hesitated. "The boy will work himself to death if we don't do something – but he is the Fire Lord, and you must respect this. You could try offering more support -"

"He won't accept it," the first said. "A regency would -"

"Then we are at an impasse," said the old man.

The first man paused. "For now. If things get worse..."

"We shall deal with that then."

The first man frowned, then bowed his head. "We will indeed."

Zuko could feel the eyes on him, watching, speculating, waiting for the next stumble. He held his head high and went on.

Dr. Chimon was finishing off a late dinner and a glass of sake at a quiet Caldera restaurant when an old aquaintance slipped into the seat next to him. "Fancy seeing you here," Dr. Kage said. "Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all," said Dr. Chimon. "I thought you were still in the Earth Kingdom. What brings you back to the Capital?"

"Work," said Kage. "With so many troops being pulled back, I was reassigned here to do more work on war trauma with the demobilizing soldiers."

"That makes sense."

"I hear you've had quite the promotion. Palace physician and personal physician to the Fire Lord. Nice."

"Certainly not what I was expecting last year," Dr. Chimon admitted.

Kage snorted. "Nothing is what I expected last year. It's been a busy one."

"That it has." Dr. Chimon took a sip of his drink and gazed thoughtfully at Kage. "War trauma, huh? Have you ever worked with really young soldiers, or with cases of child abuse?"

"Most of the new recruits are 16 when they start training, and then there were a few younger children who'd gotten caught up in the war by accident. I've not formally dealt with child abuse much, but you get people with all sorts of pasts in the military. Why?"

"I might want to pick your brain."

Kage's eyebrows rose. "Oh?"

"Not here," Chimon hesitated.

"Why don't you come round to my place?" said Kage. "We can talk more freely there, and I believe there's still some of those lemon tarts my wife makes."

"That sounds perfect," said Chimon. They finished their drinks and headed off together.