After much, much, much persuasion from Lord Zuko, Lin finally allowed Zhu to visit the Fire Nation capital to see her birth father. The ex-Fire Lord had tried to convince her to let Zhu stay for a month but Lin firmly said that even sending her to the Capital for a week was pushing it.
Rubbing her cherry red nose with the back of her hand, Zhu dragged her luggage to the front door where her grandfather - could she call him that? - waited patiently. This was not how she expected the day to turn out.
Her mother quietly watched her struggle with the big backpack and finally crouched down to her height once Zhu stood in front of her.
"If you don't feel right there," Lin said sternly, "you radio me immediately. Don't take any crap from anyone there. Especially that woman-" Lord Zuko let out a cough "- Stick to the rules. Don't firebend without proper supervision. Practise your katas daily."
Zhu's heart was in her mouth and she felt like she was going to puke. She was going to see her birth father for the first time and she didn't even know what he was like. Despite Lord Zuko reassuring her that Prince Kasai was eager to see her, Zhu still felt frightened. Her stomach hurt so much.
She wordlessly threw her arms around Lin, burying her face in her neck. Her mother wrapped herself tightly around her daughter's tiny form, holding her close. It wasn't often that she showed affection, but that didn't mean she worried any less.
"I love you." Zhu whispered, tightening her grip.
Her mother simply pressed her nose onto Zhu's hair and then let her go, "Capital City is a day by sea. You should get going."
"Well," Lord Zuko led them out, "It's a good thing we're not travelling by ship then." He let out a shrill whistle.
Zhu's eyes widened as she turned her gaze to the sky. A serpentine creature appeared in the sky with a roar and descended onto the small garden in front of them. A dragon. A real, fire breathing, red dragon. She could hardly believe her eyes.
"Of course." Lin murmured, eyeing the dragon's tail that was dangerously near her prized patch of tiger-lillies.
Lord Zuko offered Zhu his hand and she timidly slipped her palm into his. He tugged her gently towards the creature, who looked at them with curiosity.
"This is Druk."
Zhu moved forward, reaching out to the dragon, who responded by folding its wings and lowering its head. "Hi…" The little girl petted the creature, who breathed loudly. She closed her eyes tightly and focused on the heat radiated by the dragon. Letting out a gasp, she turned to Lord Zuko, "The dragon's cold from the inside!"
"Hmm?" The older man stroked his beard thinking, "Yes, they are cold-blooded creatures. How did you know?"
Her mother answered instead, "She saw me use my seismic senses once and tried to copy it. We found out she could read heat signatures." Tilting her head at Zhu, who grinned proudly, Lin continued, "It needs work, however. A lot of work."
Zhu scrunched up her nose and made a face at her mother, who rolled her eyes in response. Suddenly, the little girl let out a squeak as she was lifted off the ground and placed on top of Druk's lowered head. Taken by surprise, Zhu grabbed the dragon's horns. For a man so old, she thought, Lord Zuko sure was strong. The man chuckled at her terrified expression, climbing onto the creature after her.
"Let's get going then?"
Zhu looked at Lin again, smiling awkwardly, "See you in a week's time."
Her mother only nodded and bowed slightly to Lord Zuko, who bid her farewell and grasped Druk's reins.
Druk spread his wings wide and flapped them once, twice and with a gust of wind that almost knocked Zhu off had it not been for Lord Zuko, they were in the air. For a moment or so, Zhu enjoyed the feeling of flying until she made the mistake of looking down. The buildings and the people looked tiny. Really, really tiny. Zhu's head started to spin dangerously and her insides turned into pudding. She leaned back and hid her face into the sleeve of Lord Zuko's kimono.
Noticing her discomfort, Zuko asked, "Zhu, are you scared of heights?"
She nodded hesitantly, "I...I've never been this high before." She gripped his sleeve in her tiny hands, "I won't f-fall, right?"
"Neither I nor Druk will let you fall." He replied kindly, "Why don't we talk to each other till we reach the Capital? That way maybe you won't pay attention to the fact that we're flying over the vast ocean."
Curiosity got the best of her and Zhu peeped down again, only to let out a whimper and cover her eyes again. The ocean was the bluest blue she had ever seen. Yet it scared her. Her lungs felt as if they were going to collapse and the feeling of nausea hit her. If she fell from this height, Zhu was sure that she'd be dead before she hit the water. She clutched her bag tightly to her chest.
Think about something else. Anything else. The clouds! The clouds looks so fluffy. If I reach out and touch them maybeI'llendupfallingoffDrukandthenI'lldie -
"Do I...Do I call you Grandfather then?" Zhu interrupted Zuko as he mentally cursed himself again for saying the wrong thing. He blinked at her before smiling gently.
"Of course. Although I don't think any of my grandchildren refer to me so formally. Your brother, Kazuki, calls me 'frail old man'." Lord Zuko let out a heavy, dejected sigh.
"Grandchildren?"
The rest of the trip was Zuko telling Zhu about his daughter, Fire Lord Izumi, and her children, Iroh and Ursa. Iroh was twelve and Ursa was ten. Both her brothers had nearly mastered firebending and while Ursa was a non-bender, she was very proficient with weapons, much like her grandmother, Mai. Zhu didn't have to look up at her grandfather to know that he was smiling ear to ear whilst talking about the woman. He then proceeded to tell her about his own siblings. His youngest sister, Kiyi, had long ago moved to one of the coastal towns with her husband, Guri. His other sister, Azula, however…
"You mean you don't know where she is?" Zhu peered up, pulling Zuko's kimono sleeve down to her nose.
The old tugged at the reins slightly, making Druk turn. Zhu let out a squeak. "Well, we've not been on good terms for a long time now. Azula...I've been told that she lurks around the palace and is rarely seen. It's been years since I've personally seen her. Her son is one of the nobles of the court."
Zhu, in turn, told him about her own small world. She got good grades even though she disliked her snotty teacher who picked on her friend. Some days, when her mother had time to spare, they'd give her firebending a go. The duo would practise in the backyard of their house, taking care that they didn't accidentally demolish Zhu's tiny kitchen garden, which mostly consisted of peas.
"Mother found out that I was a firebender when I sneezed and accidentally set the curtains on fire," She admitted meekly, "She wasn't too happy with the burnt curtains or with the fact that I wasn't an earthbender. But she accepted it later on."
Her mother always knew if she was slacking off from her homework or if she was lying. Zhu couldn't even prank her!
"Her seismic sense takes all the fun away." She pouted.
The two continued to talk the rest of the way and by sunset, they neared the Capital. Zhu, ignoring the churning feeling her stomach, gazed at the huge, magnificent palace that came into view. There was no turning back now, she thought as Druk lowered himself on the castle plaza. A number of people, dressed royally, were standing with their sight on the dragon.
The moment Druk landed, a young boy had exclaimed, "Gramps!" and had made a dash towards them before a firm grasp on his shoulder stopped him. A tall, intimidating woman pulled the boy back with a small chide. She wore the Fire Crownpin in her hair and Zhu understood that she was Fire Lord Izumi.
Lord Zuko, she noted, had already gotten off Druk and was waiting for Zhu to take his hand. She grasped his forearms and he lifted her off the dragon and set her down. Zhu turned to the group of people and suddenly felt very underdressed in her high collared, long tunic, dark leggings and traditional slip-on shoes. Mostly everyone wore heavy looking kimonos or armour in shades of red, black and gold.
The old man took her by the hand and led her towards the waiting party. Zhu took smaller steps and wished for badgermoles to come digging out of the ground and take her back to her mother. Mother should've been here. She should've come with Zhu. Why would she leave a five year old all alone amongst strangers. Zhu hated this!
Sensing her fear, Lord Zuko gently squeezed her hand, sending warmth to calm her down. It had always worked with Kazuki.
They stopped a foot away from the group and Fire Lord Izumi approached them with a small smile that made her look less intimidating. Zhu still wanted to hide behind Lord Zuko.
"Welcome home, Father." The woman looked as if she was assessing Zhu through her gold rimmed glasses, "You must be Zhu."
Zhu respectfully bowed her head, "It's a pleasure to meet you...Your Highness." Nervous or not, she could not forget the manners that Lin had drilled into her.
Fire Lord Izumi narrowed her eyes at the girl, "That will not do."
Zhu gulped, terrified, "Ma'am?" A minute. She hadn't been here for a minute and she had messed up.
"You will refer to me as Aunty." The woman gave her a playful look, "We are family, aren't we?"
Lord Zuko chuckled, patting Zhu's head who was filled with relief. Fire Lord Izumi then looked over her shoulder and gestured. "Well? Kasai? What are you waiting for?"
Zhu had not expected her father to look like the man who had anxiously shuffled forward. He was tall, taller than Lord Zuko and leaner, with a clean shaven face and a pointed chin. High Prince Kasai had the same golden narrow eyes that Zhu had. He wore form-fitting Fire Nation armour. His long dark hair was in a top-knot with the Fire hair pin securing it. The moment their eyes met, Zhu looked down and shifted closer to her grandfather.
"Zhu Beifong," His silvery, pleasant voice took her off guard, "It's wonderful to finally meet you."
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