Dinner was a sombre affair as opposed to the banquet they had initially planned in Zhu's honour. The Fire Lord kept it private so that neither Zhu nor Kasai were overwhelmed with questions from the nobility. They still had to announce Zhu's existence to the court. Of course, until she was legitimized, Zhu could not be considered a princess. However she was the daughter of the High Prince and she would be treated as such. No matter how Lady Chiaki reacted.
The woman had absolutely refused to turn up for dinner, demanding it to be brought to her chambers instead. Nobody thought of questioning her. Most of the staff had heard her argument with her husband and they were curious to know who the 'bastard child' and 'little whore' was. Lady Chiaki's words, not theirs. Little did they know that it was the five year old girl, who was the target of the hateful words.
Zhu and Kazuki walked down the hallway, bantering back and forth. Zhu's tears and worries were long forgotten. The siblings entered the dining hall where Fire Lord Izumi and another older woman were sitting.
Fire Lord Izumi sent a smile whereas the other woman wobbled a little while standing up. As Izumi reached to help her, the woman just tsked, swatting her hands away.
"I'm just a little sick, Izumi. I'm not dying yet." She chided.
The woman looked graceful, even in her old age. Her grey hair was put up in an ox-horn style, much like Ursa's braided hair had been in.
Kazuki dashed forward, towards her and wrapped his arms around her, "Grammai! Are you better now?"
She let out a chuckle, "Yes, I feel better now that I've seen my dear grandson." Lady Mai let go of him and turned to Zhu, who ducked her head, "And who is this?" Looking closely, Mai couldn't help but let out a gasp, "Azula? But...it can't be…"
"No, grammai." Kazuki rolled his eyes, "This is Zhu. Remember father told you about her and then you threw knives at his head and called him an idiot?"
"He-hello." Zhu bowed.
"Forgive this old woman," Lady Mai said, apologetically, "You look so much like my husband's sister, it caught me by surprise. Now," She opened up her arms, bending slightly, "Give your grammai a hug, will you?"
Before she could say anything, Zhu found her feet moving towards the woman. This is the nicest hug ever, Zhu thought as Lady Mai affectionately kissed her forehead.
Zhu looked a lot like Azula, Mai had observed. However, the way she held herself was very different. Much like how Kasai was when he was a child. Nervous and scared. Mai closed her hand around Zhu's and led her to the table.
The doors behind them opened and Lord Zuko and High Prince Kasai entered, flocked by Iroh and Ursa. The ex-Fire Lord took his seat next to his daughter and Kasai sat next to where his mother was sitting before. Ursa excitedly rushed towards Mai and Zhu.
"Grammai, can Zhu sit with Iroh and me?" Without waiting for a response, the girl wrapped herself around Zhu's forearm and dragged her to the other side of the table, "Here, sit between us so that we can both talk to you."
"O-okay."
The elders in the hall laughed and settled in. Kazuki rolled his eyes and sat on the other side of his grandmother. He was her favorite grandchild after all.
The food wasn't the usual Earth Kingdom style that Zhu was used to. But it was heavenly nonetheless. Zhu would've enjoyed it had she not watched what she ate, how she ate, how she sat, where her elbows were. She was extra cautious about not spilling food or water on the expensive looking tablecloth.
"Uncle Kasai said that your mother is an earthbender!" Iroh waved his chopsticks in the air with gusto, "Are you one too?"
Zhu shook her head, "No, I'm a firebender."
"Cool! So how far are you with your training? When I was five, I had mastered all the basic moves." Ursa rolled her eyes at her brother's bragging as Kazuki grumbled out a 'Show off.'
"I..haven't really trained much. Mother makes me practise the forms but they're mostly earthbending style." Zhu replied sheepishly.
"Kazuki and I can teach you!" The boy grinned, despite Kazuki's vehement protests, "You'll learn faster. By the time you leave, you'll be a novice bender! And a good one, I promise."
" - don't want to teach - wait, what do you mean leave?" Kazuki frowned, looking at his father for answers.
The man chewed his food slowly and swallowed before explaining, "Well, your sister is here for a week. And then she'll go back home to Republic City to her mother."
"Did you think she'll stay here forever?" Ursa asked, with genuine curiosity.
The boy simply looked away, blushing, "Whatever. I don't care."
She simply ignored him and turned to the younger girl next to her, "He's not going to tell you but he was actually excited to see you. We could all tell, right Iroh?"
"Stop talking like I'm not here." Kazuki hissed from across the table, "I wasn't excited or anything."
"Yeah, you were."
"Shut up, Iroh."
"You shut up, crybaby."
The servants who stood in the back merely observed the new addition to the royal family. Gossip had already spread amongst the staff about the High Prince's illegitimate daughter, mostly thanks to Lady Chiaki's handmaidens. They said that she had almost spat fire when Lord Zuko and Fire Lord Izumi had announced their decision of inviting the girl home to the family. She wasn't to be blamed, of course. The women understood her agony. Her husband had slept with another woman whilst drunk and had sired a child. Lady Chiaki was raised a noble and this was the highest form of insult she had ever faced.
"Well, the little bastard won't be getting legitimized any time soon."
"Yeah, as if Chiaki's going to allow this no name kid to be a part of her flawless family."
The two gossiping servants lowered their heads immediately as Iroh looked over his shoulder at them, catching bits of their conversation.
Lord Zuko and his wife were the first to retire to their chambers. Their grandchildren, except for Zhu, kissed them goodnight. Lady Mai looked at Zhu expectantly. Ursa nudged the girl forward the latter embraced them instead.
"Thank you, grammai and grandad." She whispered to the elderly couple as sighed affectionately.
"We look forward to spending time with you, Zhu." Mai brushed back the girl's hair lovingly, "Remember, you are a part of this family. No matter what people may say."
Kasai later pulled Zhu aside, after the children had left. Kazuki had thrown his father a look of curiosity before departing.
"Walk with me, Zhu."
Her father led her to the garden and she followed him, intrigued by what he had to say to her. They sat down on a bench, by a turtle-duck pond. Or at least she assumed that it was a turtle-duck pond since they couldn't see any at night. The air smelt sweet here, unlike in Republic City. The cool breeze made her shiver involuntarily and she shifted closer to her father, who radiated the same comforting warmth like Lord Zuko had.
"I…" Kasai began, "I'd like to apologize, Zhu. For not being there for you or your mother." He looked at her, hesitantly, "I should've come right away when I received Lin's letter. I acted like a coward."
Zhu blinked at him in surprise, "Mother wrote to you about me?"
He nodded, "A few months before you were born, she told me about you. But the letter fell into my wife's hands, first. I have caused a lot of pain to the two people I care very much about. Three, actually. And I can only imagine the pain you've had to go through because of me. You don't have to forgive me, Zhu," He added, "but...please give me a chance to make things right."
Zhu was quiet, picking at the seams of her tunic, before speaking, "The kids at school...my classmates - they used to ask why I had no father or why I came to class without doing my hair properly or why I never had my lunch with me. Mother had never talked about you, even after I had begged her to tell me, at least, what you looked like." She looked at her knees, clenching her fists tightly, "From my very first memory, mother has always been working. She'd leave me alone for days at home, while she spent her nights sleeping at her office. I thought she hated me." Zhu relaxed her hands, and looked up at her father who was gazing intently at her, "She didn't.
"One day, I accidentally burnt this boy's shirt because he called me something bad. I didn't know what it meant but the way everyone reacted, it hurt. They called mom down from the station and I thought she'd kill me. On the way home, I tried to ask her about the word that the boy had called me, the one that the staff had whispered today in the halls today," Kasai's eyes hardened, "but I didn't know how. Mother said to me that day that she didn't know how to be a mother to me. Because her own mother hadn't. That she thought I was doing okay because I never said anything to her. I know my mother loves me. And that lessened the pain. So, you don't have much to worry about, papa."
Kasai sucked in his breath, and turned away from Zhu while wiping his eyes harshly with the sleeve of his kimono. He sniffled once or twice.
"Are...are you crying?" the girl panicked, "Did-did I say something wrong? Was I not-"
"No," Kasai wheezed, "The cold air got into my - oh, who am I kidding. My adorable daughter who I met today for the first time called me 'papa'. My heart is bursting with joy. I thought you hated me."
What a silly man, Zhu thought fondly as she watched him cough and inhale loudly. She patted his arm in comfort, "There, there."
They sat in silence for a while before Zhu built up the courage to ask her father a question that had been bothering her for a while.
"Did you like mother? Y'know, like that?"
The man had steam coming out of his ears out of embarrassment. He chose his words very carefully, "Well...I knew your mother since I was a boy. Izumi and I used to visit Republic City often to see Uncle Aang and his family." He paused before admitting, "I thought I loved her back then but her heart belonged to someone else. And then Tenzin -"
"Councilman Tenzin!?" Zhu interrupted, "Mother knows him too?"
Kasai creased his eyebrows in disbelief, "You haven't met Tenzin? Lin really didn't tell you anything, did she? But then again...this was to be expected."
She pouted but gestured him to continue.
"Hmm...I stopped visiting after some time because father was abdicating the throne and I had to be by Izumi's side. We - your mother and I - stopped keeping in touch. I met Chiaki at father's abdication ceremony. Between you and me, she was a little mean but I wanted to marry her after a few months of knowing her."
"So you like Lady Chiaki like that?"
"Yes, very much so."
"Then why…" Zhu fidgeted with her fingers and Kasai's face grew hot.
He choked on his spit before gathering his bearings, "I'm worried about how you even know about what you're asking."
"Mother was in the hospital for a few days and I used to roam around the halls and borrow the doctor's books. I was bored. But the books were boringer -"
" - more boring."
" - don't worry, though. I didn't read much."
"Well, I'm not answering that question. Not until you're older, anyway." He mumbled to himself, rubbing his ear, "Honestly, that woman."
"What's your favorite food?" Zhu asked, out of the blue. She wanted to know if she had anything in common with her father and she admitted this to him.
Kasai thought for a second, "Sakizuke."
"That's too fancy."
"Okay then...yakisoba."
"What's your favorite...book?"
"Hold on! What's your favorite food?"
"I like any ramen that's spicy. Now...what book do you like the most?"
"...Love Amongst the Dragons."
"No way! I love that story!"
"Really? My grandmother used to take us all to the play at the Sho theatre. I'll take you sometime. It's beautiful. Your grandfather still goes there, every summer with your grammai."
"Can Kazuki and Ursa and Iroh come too?"
"Of course!"
They talked for another hour or so, trying to match their likes and dislikes. They shared the fear of heights ("Pfft, I've flown on Druk three times in my entire life"), loved to sleep and hated ginger tea. They called it a night when Zhu began nodding off. Kasai remembered that she had had a long, mentally exhausting day and declared that he was walking her back to her room.
"This was...this was nice." He nodded enthusiastically as they reached the door to her room, "We should do this more often."
Zhu had not expected her brother and both her cousins curled up on her bed, leaving little room for her. Iroh was sprawled across the foot of the bed while Kazuki was under the cover on the right side. Hearing her shuffle closer to take a good look, Ursa, who was dozing in the middle, blinked her eyes open sleepily.
"Sleep, Zhu. Don't feel lonely. We're here."
The youngest, without another word, climbed into the bed and scooted closer to Ursa, pressing her forehead against her cousin's back. Zhu couldn't fight the smile that had crept up to her face.
Unfortunately, the kids woke up in the middle of the night because of Iroh, who had rolled onto Ursa in his sleep, pushing Kazuki off the bed and kicking Zhu in the face.
SIDE STORY:
Chiaki had been the first to read Lin's letter. She had wordlessly handed it over to her husband, who felt as if he would vomit his organs out when he skimmed through it. The woman then ripped it from his hands, burnt the letter and slapped Kasai harshly, smearing ash across his face.
She then hoisted their toddler son on her hip, packed her belongings and moved to their vacation home on Ember Island.
Kasai couldn't explain it to his parents or sister as to why his wife left suddenly. He blamed it on her postpartum depression, saying that Chiaki needed space. He felt terrible about lying to his mother but at least half of it was true, wasn't it?
The prince had turned up at Chiaki's doorstep after a few weeks, begging her to come back. He apologized over and over again, accepting his blunder and promising that he loved her and only her. What happened with Lin was a mistake.
His wife's terms were that she would never be under the same roof as his bastard child.
It was six years later, when the Avatar had been discovered that the truth came to light. Kasai had denied Chiaki when she said that she'd come to the South as well. A huge argument happened that most of the family heard. And along with that the truth.
"You don't want me to come with you because Beifong is going to be there!" Chiaki screeched, "And you'll meet that spawn of yours. Tell me, you've been keeping in touch with her, haven't you?"
"I haven't. I swear I haven't." Kasai hissed, trying to keep his calm, "Don't bring Lin and her daughter into this."
"Oh, you have a daughter, do you?"
Chiaki stormed out of the room, signalling the end of the fight. She opened the door and came face to face with Fire Lord Izumi and Lord Zuko. The latter's eyes had turned wide and white like dishes. Chiaki pushed past them, heading to her son's room.
Kasai had started to sweat seeing his father and sister at the door. Izumi's mouth was half open as she tried to make sense of what she had heard. Zuko was breathing hard.
"Dad, I was going t-"
"YOU HAVE A KID WITH LIN BEIFONG?" Zuko yelled, startling his kids. Izumi reminded that the palace servants would hear them so he lowered his voice to a whisper. "How stupid are you?" Okay, he was yelling while whispering, "I don't remember dropping you on your head ever. You never even told us. Six years. I just- I can't - You - you dumbass."
"I'm sorry -"
"How could you do this? To your wife? What about your child? How are you going to tell your mother about this?"
Kasai looked at his elder sister expectantly, who scowled at him.
"No. You brought this on yourself. You'll tell mother by yourself."
Mai called him the worst sort of idiot. She swore at him, shaking her fists and cursing him for leaving Lin the sole responsibility of raising a child.
"She's Toph Beifong's daughter! She can't care for a kid all alone. I am so disappointed in you. Forget Lin, think of what you put the child through." Mai chucked a vase at her son's head that he expertly dodged, "You can't even call this a mistake." Two thin blades embedded themselves on the wall, next to Kasai's head, "I never raised you to be this irresponsible." Three shuriken at his feet, "Be a man. Accept and apologize for all the blunders you made."
Kazuki got into the seiza position, pressing his forehead to the ground, "Mother, I am so s-"
"Not to me." She raged, "To your wife, for being scum. To your son, for hurting his mother. To Lin and the child, for abandoning them. You will make things right and be a part of your daughter's life. I can't even believe you had the audacity to do this."
Her son's promise to fix everything did not calm Mai's fury. Instead, she used him as target practise for Ursa for the next one week, until Zuko came home with Zhu Beifong.
I know all of you would think that Mai is out of character and what not, but please keep in mind that this is approximately 60 years after AtLA. I'd like to believe that Zuko and Mai raised their family with the utmost love and care, considering how their own parents treated them.
Thank you for your reviews! I'm glad that you guys are excited about the story. I'd like to know what all of you think of the interactions Zhu has with the characters and who else you would like to see her with.