The winter before Zhu turned seven, Kasai radioed her saying that the new Avatar would be visiting the Capital and asked if she would like to extend her stay by a day or two. Nodding excitedly while holding the receiver, Zhu squealed a yes and immediately started packing.
She had already been going back and forth from the palace to Republic City for a year now. Zhu had memorized which hallway led where and which room was which. Her bending had improved immensely and she was on par with Kazuki in Baki's classes. As promised, grammai and Ursa had started teaching her how to use throwing weapons. Zhu had tried hard to refrain from throwing a fit when after numerous tries, only one of the thin knives hit the target. Barely on the border of the outermost circle but she did hit the target and that's what counted.
Lady Chiaki had stopped bothering herself with Zhu. The few times they had crossed paths, the woman had offhandedly snubbed her, called her either a 'little whore' or 'vermin' and glided away with her shimmery kimono trailing behind her. The Lady's handmaidens initially were bold enough to ill-treat Zhu but the girl had tattooed 'take no crap' onto her heart. Soon enough, the servants had stopped calling her names altogether.
"My papa said the Avatar is coming to visit the Capital," Zhu told her friend Chen eagerly, "I wanted to ask mother if she wanted to come too but she made a face and said that she didn't want to be around my 'hog-monkey of a father'."
Chen gasped at her words, widening his green eyes, and quickly looked around, "Zhu, you know you can't say such words."
Chen was beautiful. He had flawless skin due to his sisters' and mother's fussing, and had long, dark, luscious hair that was in a different hairstyle everyday. He wore expensive dresses and frocks. But he hated them.
The girl shrugged, kicking her legs back and forth on the swing, "Mother says it so I can say it too."
"That's not how it works, Zhu." The child got off the swing next to Zhu's and dusted his frock, "I wish my mom stopped making me wear these. I don't like frocks and skirts."
"Then tell her."
"I did," Chen frowned, "But she said I'll grow out of my "tomboy phase", whatever that means."
"It means she thinks you like acting like a boy but then you'll go 'back to normal' once you grow up. Well, what's normal according to her, anyway." Zhu stopped swinging to look at her friend, who now had a deeply disturbed look on his face, "It's okay, Chen. Just a few more years. If your parents don't stop hurting you, you can run away to my house and live with my mother and me. I'll beat anyone up for you. I'm strong now."
Chen couldn't help but smile at his friend. This Zhu was someone he was still trying to get used to. She had become less of a crybaby these days and had started using fancier sentences. Just yesterday, she had snapped at the school bullies saying that she 'will not be illtreated by those who do not even amount to the dirt beneath my feet' before kicking them into the dirt. Zhu said that her brother had taught her that, while grinning. They had both run away before the teacher on rounds could find them.
"I hope you come back soon, Zhu."
"Don't worry. I'll be back before you know it!"
Zhu had stopped by the Police Headquarters to say goodbye to her mother and dashed out of the door. She wasn't looking where she was going and ended up colliding with somebody. Gathering her bearings, she looked up to see a man in airbender robes peering worriedly at her.
"Are you alright?" He asked and Zhu noticed his arrow tattoos and realized he was none other than Councilman Tenzin.
"A-ah, yes." She bowed her head apologetically, "I'm sorry, sir. I was in a hurry and didn't pay attention."
He let out a short laugh, "Well, then. As long as neither of us are hurt." Councilman Tenzin walked by her, nodding a goodbye. Zhu's gaze followed him until he walked up to her mother's office.
"Lin, are you in there? I have something that needs your urgent attention."
She wanted to eavesdrop but realized her mother would find out. And besides, she would end up missing the ferry if she lingered any longer. Without giving the older airbender another thought, Zhu sprinted without stopping and caught her breath near the harbour. Her heart hammered from exhaustion as she dragged her feet till the ferry. One of the crew members who recognized the little firebender waved at her.
"Hey, kid! Hurry up. We were waiting for you."
She didn't really miss Baki on the way because he had figured out that Zhu tried to distract him by asking about Guo every time. So he rebuffed her with questions of politics and the Fire Nation economy every time she opened her mouth. Besides, he hadn't come back to Republic City for some time now. Well, crap, he is going to be crankier now that he hasn't seen Guo!
Iroh was waiting for her as usual when she reached the Capital City wharf at sundown. The first thing he did when she deboarded was run up to her, sending a flaming kick her way. Zhu, who had predicted him to do so, had somersaulted to a side to dodge his attack.
"You need to stop doing that." Zhu cried, "What if you end up burning me?"
Iroh crossed his arms and smirked, "Well, it means you need more training and you're not ready to learn how to bend lightning. Now, come on. Grammai insisted that she'll have dinner with you." At fourteen, he was taller than Ursa, who had not seemed to grow at all since she turned eleven last year. Iroh's voice sounded as if it was cracking and both the girls laughed about it in private.
The two exchanged stories as they took a tram back to the palace grounds. The weather had slowly started to turn cold. Unfortunately, this part of the Fire Nation did not experience much snow. Pity, Zhu would've loved to see to what the Capital looked like with Snow.
Grammai had greeted her with the same enthusiasm as she did the first time they met. It warmed Zhu's heart even more and more.
"I missed you, grammai." Zhu kissed her grandmother's cheek as they hugged.
Kazuki sulked from the back of the room, "Yeah, about time you came. I'm starving. Grammai, can we go eat now?"
"I missed you too, Zhu." Mai said fondly and turned to her grandson, "Kazu, greet your sister properly. Weren't you excited just a few moments ago about her arrival?"
"No." He said through gritted teeth, "Why would I miss h- Stop sticking your tongue at me, Zhu! Grammai, you need to eat on time or else you'll fall sick again."
They talked about the preparations for the Avatar's arrival over dinner. Grammai told them more stories about the predecessor, Aang. Zhu sneakily picked out all the beans and mushrooms from her dinner using her chopsticks and placed them on her brother's bowl. He was too engrossed in what grammai was saying to notice.
"So it's true that even you tried to capture Avatar Aang?" Kazuki questioned, leaning forward.
Mai nodded, "At that time, I did what made my parents happy. And being in the good graces of the Royal Family made them happy. I didn't care about right or wrong. Azula was my friend then, and Ty Lee and I would've followed her to the end of the world."
"What happened then? What changed your mind."
"Hmm…" Mai smiled fondly, "It was like I told Azula, I loved your grandfather more than anything or anyone."
"Gross."
"What about Azula?" Zhu blurted, "Where is she now?"
Their grandmother hummed in thought, "We don't really know. Ryuji, her son, told us that he had lost contact with his mother a long time ago."
"I heard she was a talented bender." Zhu said, with hints of awe in her voice.
"She was," Grammai reminisced, "Azula was one of the best firebenders I had ever seen. She had been more powerful than your grandfather since a young age. However, she was thoroughly misguided and Zhu," the sudden sternness in her grandmother's voice surprised her, "Azula isn't someone you should be looking up to. She has done some terrible things without feeling regret. One would be foolish to follow her footsteps."
The girl looked down at her food, not expecting this reaction, "I'm...I'm sorry, grammai."
The sharpness in Mai's eyes disappeared instantly, "It's not your fault, dear. You don't know Azula like I do. Although Zuko and Azula made amends years ago, I still cannot find it in my heart to forgive her."
Yet, when everyone had retired to their rooms that night, Zhu snuck into the library and brought back records on Azula and her bending that her then teachers had kept. A few had been written by someone called Li and Lo. She had found them in the dustiest corners of the place. It was as if nobody would've noticed if these scrolls suddenly disappeared. Zhu poured over the scrolls with intense focus, memorizing the descriptions of the forms and the routines that Azula had practised.
The then Princess's tutors had clearly been frightened of the force that was Azula. They wrote about her aggression and drive to be better than everyone. She was very, very talented and picked up the most difficult firebending moves with ease. They weren't too fond of her behaviour as one had written, in an underlying manner, about the superiority complex that she displayed. The records ended very quickly, much to Zhu's liking. It seemed that Azula had become a master firebender around the age of seven or eight.
Li and Lo, however, wrote about the misery and paranoia Azula had experienced. The despair of her mother favoring her older brother. About her being a monster. Even Ozai did not have any space in his heart for her, no matter how hard Azula tried to please him. The two women had known the then Princess long enough to understand her when she said not a single word.
Azula may have had mastered lightning bending at a young age, but it was the suppressed rage that fueled her flames.
Zhu closed her eyes, flicking her palm open and sending a small burst of fire in a circle that immediately disappeared. She sensed Kazuki across the hall, in his room, and then her father with his wife, in their chambers. A few guards here and there. Nobody was going to enter her room any time soon.
She opened her eyes and took the scrolls in her hands. Without a second thought, Zhu burnt them with such powerful fire that not even ashes were left. Dusting her hands, she got up from the corner of the room she had been sitting and climbed into her bed.
"There is energy all around us. The energy is both yin and yang; positive energy and negative energy. Only a select few firebenders can separate these energies. This creates an imbalance. The energy wants to restore balance and in a moment the positive and negative energy come crashing back together. You provide release and guidance, creating lightning."
Kazuki and Zhu had almost zoned out as Lord Zuko droned on about lightning generation. Behind him, Iroh was sitting cross-legged on a resting Druk's back, making a face.
It had been three days since Zhu had arrived. Their grandfather had suddenly declared that morning at breakfast that he'd try to teach them how to produce lightning.
"I can't believe you told them the same thing you told me. I bet you said those words to Uncle Kasai as well!" Iroh exclaimed, "They don't even make sense!"
Lord Zuko threw his hands in the air, "Well, my uncle taught me using the same words so I figured I'd teach all of you using them." He turned to Kazuki first, "Now, follow my lead, Kazuki. You must always maintain a calm mind. Remember, you are guiding the lightning. You can't force its path." He stretched out his two fingers from both hands and made circular motions, "First, separate your yin and yang energies and then combine them. Let the energy flow through your fingertips."
The older man swung his hands into an upward arc, fingers pointing to the sky. And while he did so, electricity crackled around him. The ends of his fingertips began to glow blue and lightning shot out instantaneously. Zuko brought his hands down, "Go on, Kazuki. Give it a go."
Kazuki was only able to produce fire, no matter how hard he tried. After several failed attempts, he gave up.
"Don't worry," Zuko placed a comforting hand on his sulking grandson, "I couldn't learn lightning generation until I was sixteen. You just need to practise more."
Zhu had observed everything quietly. She walked to the centre of the training ground as Kazuki and Zuko talked. She began to move the way her grandfather had. Druk and Iroh perked up, paying close attention to the electricity that had gathered on Zhu's hands. With a yell, she pushed her hands towards the air, one arm lower than the other, and shot lightning into the sky.
The intensity of the lightning was very strong and Iroh was afraid that his cousin wouldn't be able to control it. However, Zhu effortlessly willed the lightning to a stop and turned to look at her grandfather and brother. Both of them had been staring at her with their mouths wide open.
"Zhu, that was amazing!" Iroh ran forward, clapping her on the back, "I never got it correct on my first try." he squinted suspiciously at her, "Are you sure you didn't practise this with your mom?"
She laughed out of embarrassment, rubbing the back of her head, "Nah, my mom doesn't know how to. I just...did what I understood."
Zuko couldn't believe his eyes. He felt as if he was seeing the smaller version of Azula when Zhu shot lightning. He had to rub his eyes and do a triple take to make sure that it was his granddaughter and not his sister before him.
"That.." He was at a loss of words. Was Zhu a prodigy? "That was remarkable."
"ZHU, YOU LITTLE PEST!" Kazuki roared, running towards her, "TELL ME HOW YOU DID THAT OR I'LL KILL YOU."
Zhu let out a shriek as her brother chased her around the courtyard, shooting harmless balls of fire at her. Iroh trailed after them, yelling at Kazuki to not hurt their little sister.
Zuko shook his head, dismissing the gnawing thoughts in his head and turned to one of the guards who had approached him with a grim face.
On the day of the Avatar's arrival, Zhu had dressed in a two layered red and gold hanfu. The hanfu was traditional to the Earth Kingdom and since her mother was an earth bender, Zhu had requested for one with Fire Nation colours.
Ursa had helped her put it on and had done her hair in a very cute way. Zhu's hair had been forced into two loops at the bottom of her scalp. The ends of the loops had been tied into two buns with golden floral pins. Zhu had thanked her cousin over and over again, expressing how much she loved it.
"Grammai! Grandad!" Zhu had wobbled to her grandparents proudly, "How do I look?"
"My!" Zuko had exclaimed, bending down to her level, "I believe we have been graced by a beautiful spirit, haven't we, Mai?"
The woman had chuckled at this, "So it seems. Zhu, you look wonderful."
Zhu beamed, her face flushing red as her hanfu.
"You look stupid." Kazuki scowled at her, making her frown at him.
Iroh elbowed him in the ribs, "No, she doesn't. She looks really nice."
"Stupid."
Kasai had all but sobbed when he saw Zhu. "My cute little daughter," he wailed, making Kazuki look distatefully at him, "I can't believe you've grown up so fast. When you came here a few months ago, you were so small. Soon you'll get married to some person and I'll have to give-"
"Keep it together, dad." Her brother had rolled his eyes, "You're so weird."
Zhu roamed around the palace with her siblings, chatting about this and that. Ursa had taken time off from the Royal Academy where she was studying. Maybe they could go visit the theatre with the Avatar in the evening…
Suddenly, Zhu froze and turned to one of the guards who passed her by. The person in the armour made no move to acknowledge that she had been looking at them and walked on, disappearing around the corner.
"What is it?" Kazuki asked, noticing that she had stayed behind. Ursa and Iroh stopped talking and looked back at Zhu.
"Did they hire new guards?" Zhu addressed Iroh. who usually knew about things like this.
The boy shook his head, "Not recently, no. Why?"
"The guard who was patrolling." She frowned, worriedly, "I've never sensed him in the palace before."
Silence descended upon them before Ursa waved her hand, dismissing their concerns. "I'm sure it's nothing. They must have increased security because of the Avatar."
The party approached the East wing of the palace when Baki hurried down the corridor, towards them.
"Follow me. All of you. No questions." Something in his voice made the children obey them immediately. Feeling extremely unsettled, Zhu shifted closer to Kazuki.
Baki led them to their grandmother's chambers, where Zuko, Izumi and Kasai were having a tense discussion. They had grim looks on their faces. Kasai turned to the children once they were near them and tried to smile.
"Why don't you guys stay with grammai for some time?" He said, "Keep her company."
"Mother," Iroh looked past his uncle, "Is everything okay?"
Izumi exchanged looks with her father and brother before admitting, "There have been...slight changes to the plans. Avatar Korra will...not be visiting us today."
The graveness in the Fire Lord's voice unsettled the children. Kazuki nudged his sister and she glanced at him, puzzled.
"Tell them, Zhu." He mumbled, bringing the adults' attention towards them.
"What is it?" Their father asked.
Zhu glanced around uncertainly, sending a small flare that disappeared. The unfamiliar guard wasn't anywhere around. She looked at her aunt.
"I sensed an unfamiliar heat signature coming from one of the guards." She said, "Iroh said that no new soldiers had been hired. And I'm sure he's an intruder because I know what every guard's signature feels like."
"And you are absolutely sure about it?" Lord Zuko eyed her.
Zhu nodded with confidence, "I have full trust in my abilities. I'm absolutely sure."
"Izumi?" He turned to his daughter.
"Kasai," she ordered, "Increase the security. Ready the Yuyan archers and the Kiyoshi Warriors. There might be more intruders." She turned to her father as Kasai hastened away, "If the rumours are true and they are here for the Avatar, there might be more than one. If they find out Korra isn't here, they'll head to the South Pole. There's also a possibility that they might have already split up. Alert the White Lotus and Chief Tonraq, father."
Iroh interrupted, stepping forward, "But you just said that the Avatar isn't here! Are we under attack?"
"The four of you are to stay with your grandmother. A few guards will be stationed outside," Izumi ignored her son, "Under no circumstances are you to leave her chambers. Do you understand?" The authority in her voice immediately made Zhu, Kazuki and Ursa nod while Iroh remained defiant. Fire Lord Izumi locked eyes with her son.
"Do you understand?"
Iroh bit his tongue to hold back himself, "Yes, ma'am."
Iroh and Zhu could not sit still. The former paced around the large room as Zhu peeked out the windows. She had tried to sense the heat and the chi from her surroundings, and the sheer anxiousness had put her on the edge. That did not stop her from sending short bursts of fire to keep a check. Lady Mai was sitting with her other two grandchildren, reading.
In any other case, Mai would've been out there, fighting beside her family. But the years had made her weak, and unlike Katara or Toph, she was no bender. No element could help overcome her old age. Her most important responsibility right now was to ensure the safety of the children who surrounded her, spirits forbid anything happened.
"This is ridiculous," Iroh suddenly protested, "I should be out there, with the rest of the soldiers. I shouldn't be cooped up here with the children." He gestured violently at the door, "Let me leave, grammai. This is what I prepared for."
"No." Mai replied in monotony, flipping the page of her book.
The teenager clenched his fists, which erupted in flames and made a beeline towards the door. He reached out to open the door when an arrow struck, barely missing his fingers. Iroh jumped back to look at his grandmother, who seemed as if she hadn't moved an inch from how she was sitting. Ursa did not look up from her game of Pai-Sho as Kazuki threw his elder brother a sideways glance.
Iroh grit his teeth and sunk himself onto one of the diwans.
A few moments later, the earth rumbled. Faint yells of instructions were heard. Zhu's heartbeat felt as if it were going to make her go deaf. Her siblings' heads had snapped towards the noises. Zhu could smell the smoke in the air. A part of her wanted to peep out of the windows…
"Do not go near the windows." Mai's voice made Zhu go still. The woman had set her book aside. Zhu could see the pointed tips of blades hidden under her long sleeves.
Zhu raised her voice to argue but suddenly froze. She had involuntarily sensed the same heat signature again. Only, it was outside their door, along with the three other guards. As if Zhu had jinxed it, their body heat instantly disappeared as the ground shook, this time with more strength. The way the heat signatures disappeared, it felt as if somebody blew out the candles.
"Grammai." Zhu panicked, her wide-eyed gaze stuck to the door, "Grammai, outside our door."
In an instant, the woman had whipped out multiple throwing weapons from her sleeves, placing herself between Zhu and the door. Iroh took his fighting stance next to her, with his hands flaming. Ursa and Kazuki were beside Zhu in the blink of an eye.
The seven year old started breathing heavily. And then the door was pierced by a large boulder that headed straight for them. Iroh sprung into action, leaping at the boulder and tearing through it using his fire.
Mai and Ursa rained a barrage of weapons at the dust that had gathered. A silhouette walked through the dust, as the non-benders attacks stopped.
The young man with shabby, long hair was dressed in Fire Nation armour. A kunai and an arrow pierced him in the shoulder and thigh.
"Give me the Avatar," He said with a vile smirk, "Give me the Avatar and I might let you live for what you did to me." Not taking his eyes off of them, he pulled the weapons sticking out of them. The armour had prevented the blade and the arrow from doing much damage.
All the exits were blocked by the man's earthbending. Spikes poked out of the ground behind him (they had pierced through the guards and Zhu did not delve on it further) and through the window panes. Zhu could try burning through them. Somebody must've alerted the other guards by now.
"Didn't you hear me, you old -" The intruder was cut off as he dodged a senbon from Mai. Seeing him distracted, Iroh swung his arms forward, shooting fireball after fireball.
Ursa pulled Kazuki and Zhu away, towards the windows, whispering them to blast through them. Zhu turned to glance at her grandmother, who seemed to be bursting with life, countering and dodging the man's attacks. Irritated, the criminal spun in the air and hit the ground with his fists. The strip of land between Iroh and Mai turned to lava that barrelled towards them like a huge wave. Mai pushed Iroh away as she jumped back. Unfortunately, the man had predicted it as he sent rocks flying her way. The woman took the full brunt of the attack as it threw her backwards, crashing through the furniture.
"Grammai!" Ursa and Iroh screamed, the latter flinging himself at the intruder, showering him with merciless fire.
Ursa and Kazuki rushed to her grandmother. Zhu on the other hand, watching the situation get out of control, screamed.
"We don't have the Avatar! Leave my family alone." She swung her arms in a forward arc, taking the man by surprise as he narrowly missed the blues flames. Zhu stomped her feet forward, punching both her fists upwards, like an earthbender, and sent a pillar of blue fire.
Iroh and Zhu worked together in unison, pushing him back towards the door. Ursa had managed to support their heavily injured grandmother as Kazuki moved towards the window to unblock it. The intruder's body language suddenly changed. He moved his body in a brutish manner, surrounding the children fighting him in a circle of lava. Then, he targeted the injured woman with the other two kids.
"To hell with the Avatar," He spat at them, "The old bitch and you runts just pissed me off." And with that, he brought the ceiling over Mai crumbling down in a matter of seconds.
With whatever strength she could muster, Mai pushed away the kids. But she couldn't herself escape the rubble that fell on her with full force. There was no way she could survive that.
Zhu felt the world stop. She felt her breath leave her lungs as everything happened in slow motion. Iroh who had been shielding her till now, suddenly propelled himself towards the fallen debris using fire. Ursa's leg was stuck. Kazuki...Kazuki was lying sideways with wounds marring his face. She saw the man escaping from the very way he came from, jumping over the pierced corpses of the guards.
Her legs moved on her own.
Zhu ran after the murderer, fury raging through her veins. Her limbs burned by how hard she was running after the man. She followed him all the way to the destroyed courtyard. Zhu leapt over the dead bodies that littered the hallways. The man used pillars of earth to try and leap over the palace walls. Where were the damn archers?
With a dangerously calm mind, Zhu moved her arms in a circular motion as fast as she could. She shot strong bolts of lightning at him, from a far distance, praying that it hit him. Praying that the lightning would strike him dead.
The lightning hit him before the arrows did, right in the centre of his back. The arrows, dipped in shirsu-spit, paralyzed him instantly.
Multiple soldiers, including a few Kyoshi warriors, suddenly materialized, surrounding the fallen man. Zhu, with her fists flaming blue, stormed forward only to be stopped by her father.
"Zhu," He gripped her so tightly it hurt, "What are you doing here? Why - Where - Where are your siblings? Your grandmother?"
"He killed her." She was suddenly hyper aware of everything. The sweat that drenched her. The dizziness. The uncontrollable rage. And the heart-wrenching sorrow. "He killed grammai."
Blood drained from Kasai's face as he whirled around and tore his way to where her chambers were supposed to be. Zhu and a dozen soldiers followed him. Ursa was unconscious, her leg bent in a painful manner. Kazuki and Iroh, with tear stained faces, were digging through the rubble.
Mai's broken body was coated in dirt and blood. Kazuki let out a wail. Iroh kept muttering under his breath, cursing himself. Zhu felt the energy leave her body and then she collapsed.
Phew, this was some chapter, amirite y'all? It was a bitch to write. One of my favorites though. I got to see more of Zhu as a character myself. I feel that Mai would be the type of a person to feel very strongly about something. And that includes her holding a grudge against Azula and not forgiving her though Zuko had. Also, Mai's death would significantly affect the Four Fire Siblings and I can't wait to delve further into it.
I hope you can guess who the intruders were :3
I'm excited to see that a lot of you guys are leaning towards slow burn. Believe me, I'd do anything to get Mako and Zhu together in season 2. But I feel that there should be a development of a strong relationship between them first.
I have an instagram account for the character moodboards I made : www . instagram i . aesthete_ /
Please don't be a silent reader! I'd love to know your thoughts on this chapter.