Chapter 1 - A New Era of Peace and Kindness
As she strode past the dozens of large, dark windows, Katara could only ask herself how an entire palace whose inhabitants drew their power from the Sun could be so gloomy.
They needed to fix that.
One of the guards stationed between a window and a long tapestry depicting a phoenix bird drew his feet closer together and straightened his back as she met his eyes.
Katara sighed to herself, once again wondering how she had managed to command such a high level of authority in such a short amount of time. One would have expected them to loosen up now that most strict rules were gone.
Perhaps this was one more thing that needed fixing, but she suspected there will be plenty of time for that later.
The moment she stopped before them, the two guards blocking the door moved aside. Katara slipped inside and closed the door behind her quietly, but didn't even bother to stifle a loud groan as her eyes adjusted to the darkness.
Zuko was sprawled out in the middle of a huge four-poster bed as if after a particularly nasty fall off Appa's back if it weren't for the peaceful smile resting on his face.
"What happened to I rise with the Sun?" Katara asked, pushing aside the heavy, crimson drapes and letting the blinding light pour in.
Zuko mumbled something in his sleep but didn't even flinch.
Katara marched over to his bedside where she took a different approach.
She pointed a finger to one of the bare feet that stuck out from under the blanket at an unusual angle, which quickly became encased in a block of ice.
Zuko scrunched up his nose before jumping from under the sheets.
"Katara!" he cried, clutching his foot. The ice immediately melted under his touch, letting the water sink into the mattress.
"You should have been ready by now! The meeting starts in ten minutes!"
"Oh," Zuko said, wiping his foot on the blanket. "Can't you guys just start without me?"
"No, we can't!" Katara stated.
"Then can't we reschedule?"
"Zuko, you set the time!"
"Oh yeah," Zuko said. "Just give me a minute."
Katara rolled her eyes and stormed out of the room, making the guards flicker in surprise.
Unlike the rest of the staff, at least Zuko had a detached posture. He was no longer the angry, stiff-shouldered boy who had crossed the gangplank and threatened to burn down her small, snow-covered village. And yet, Katara would have appreciated it if he could have moved a little bit faster.
"Honestly, I don't even know when you got so lazy," she commented. "You're starting to remind me of Sokka!"
"Does that mean you've started thinking of me as a brother?" Zuko asked with a small, hopeful smile as he struggled to get his messy hair back into a topknot.
Katara turned to him and shook her head as she reached up to fix his hair. "Oh, give me that!" She yanked the crown piece from his hand, planting it firmly above the knot.
"Thank you, Katara."
Katara looked into his eyes, even the weak, barely open one, and, despite herself, couldn't help but smile back.
Perhaps it was indeed impossible to stand by each other's side when you had to face your worst enemy without forming a deep sort of bond that would probably last a lifetime. Zuko had lost a sister that day, only to gain another.
The first thing Katara noticed when they finally reached the war meeting room was the overwhelming scent of Fire Lilies. The Fire Lord used to sit on a throne behind a wall of flames so that none of his advisors could look him in the eye. Zuko tried to change this, so at his uncle's suggestion, he replaced the flames with a string of scented candles. This should have helped calm them down and put their minds at ease, but it may have worked a little too well, considering one of the former generals looked like he was about to doze off on Admiral Chan's shoulder.
"Ah, Fire Lord Zuko and Royal Advisor Katara, we have been awaiting your arrival," said an elder man, stroking his beard.
"Yeah, sorry about that, Chancellor... uh..."
"Liu Yang, your highness.
"Right," Zuko said.
He passed over the row of candles, careful not to blow any of them with the hem of his robe, then took his seat. Katara sat down next to him, pulling out her scroll.
"Alright," Zuko began. "So how are the preparations for the Fall Equinox Festival coming along? There's only three days left!"
"With all due respect, your highness," said Chancellor Liu Yang. "Don't you think it would be perhaps best to address the issue of the colonies in the Earth Kingdom first?"
"Oh, sure," Zuko said, scratching his forehead.
Katara shook her head disapprovingly as she began to write. She had tried to bring up the colonist issue many times before, but Zuko was usually away either fishing with Sokka or picnicking with Mai, so the council had to voice most of their concerns to her.
"But we've already moved all the troops out of their territory," Zuko said. "I thought it was the only thing the Earth King required when we signed the peace treaty."
"Well, there were also a few clauses," said the chancellor. "One of these provided for the return of the colonists to the motherland in the case of overpopulated areas or areas with few resources."
Zuko nodded, rubbing his chin smartly, though you could tell by the way his single eyebrow was arched that this was news for him.
"But many of the settlers have been living in the Earth Kingdom territory for generations and have nothing to return to."
"Well, this shouldn't be a problem. If they've already integrated into the community then I'm sure the King won't mind letting them stay," Zuko said.
"Perhaps not, but not all natives agree. These groups often end up being marginalized, and, without the troops to intervene in the event of local conflicts..."
"You know full well that moving the troops was completely necessary, Chancellor."
Katara turned her head to Zuko and smiled approvingly.
"But as far as we've been informed," Admiral Chen spoke up, "it was you who first promised King Kuei the troops' retreat even before the terms of the treaty were set."
"You would have done the same if you had seen the way those villagers were treated! I once met a girl named Song who helped Uncle and me when we—"
"No offense, your highness," interrupted the Admiral, folding his arms, "but we aren't really interested in your personal life affairs."
"And then there was this little boy named Lee," continued Zuko who didn't seem to mind him very much. "You know, this whole thing also allowed the Earth Kingdom Army to return home to their families."
"Yes, but I'm pretty sure they haven't reduced their army to less than a quarter of their arsenal! The Fire Nation Army used to be the most powerful military unit of the last century!"
Zuko gave Admiral Chan a hard look. "And to get there, many were forced to leave their families. During the last few years of war, the Fire Nation ended up recruiting Firebenders starting at the age of fourteen just to increase their numbers, young boys and girls forced to shoulder the war of their ancestors!"
"And you can really guarantee us that the war is over? You should go out into the streets, and see what kind of rumors people spread!"
"Admiral, this is a new era of peace and kindness," said Zuko, opening his arms to the group in front of him. "Maybe it will take some people longer to get used to the idea. We must bear in mind that for a hundred years war was the norm, but things don't have to stay this way."
"And besides," Katara spoke. "We must trust the new Supreme Commander's initiative that will benefit all three nations."
"I know it's not my area of expertise, Royal Advisor Katara," Chancellor Liu Yang said. "But are you sure your brother knows what he's doing? I'm not even sure if the perimeter of the Caldera Palace is designed to withstand such an operation. Only yesterday one of the outer walls in the west wing was breached by a… rocky bouncy ball if I am not mistaken."
"Oh, I'm sure he'll figure something out," said Zuko, waving a dismissive hand. "Now that we got that out of the way, let's get back to the Festival. Do you think we should use Hibiscus or Rose ribbons?" He stood up, waving two red strips which, in Katara's opinion, looked exactly the same, to the blank stares of the councilors. "All in favor of Hibiscus please raise your hands!"
A sudden murmur went through the crowd and Katara looked up in time to see one of the advisors topple against one of the younger generals who immediately checked for his pulse.
"I think he just passed out, sir," she said.
Katara sighed. She had known from the beginning that too many scented candles were not a good idea. Most of the council members were quite old and frail, and the intense aroma didn't do the windowless room any favors.
"Oh, um, don't panic," Zuko said. "Katara, can't you heal him?"
"Zuko, I told you I only specialize in external wounds."
"Then can't you splash some water on his face or something?"
Katara rolled her eyes once more, but folded her scroll and went to help General Shi Fang escort the old man out of the room.
"Ah, Toph, this is the life," Aang said closing his eyes as two tattooed hands massaged his completely hairless scalp.
Toph sat with her feet in a basin full of small fish nibbling at her grimy feet as several hot stones gravitated around her head.
"Now that the Fire Nation are our friends again, this place feels more like home!"
"Yeah, maybe it's starting to feel a little too much like home for me," Toph said, catching one of the rocks in midair and smashing it into dozens of pebbles that fell into the water, scaring the fish away. "I'm bored. Nothing ever happens anymore. Just a bunch of lousy nobles always telling you what to do."
"Hey, put those back, they're not toys!" said a woman who just entered the room bringing in several folded towels.
"See what I mean?" Toph said, letting the rest of the stones fall to the floor with a deafening thud.
"Oh, Toph, you're just saying that because you haven't seen the best part yet," Aang said.
"Wow, is this really an authentic Air Nomad tattoo?" asked the boy massaging his head. "I've seen pictures, but I never thought I'd get to touch one! I can't believe it's held up for more than 100 years!"
"Well, thank you, my fiery friend," said Aang, looking up at him. "I like your tattoos too. Is that a flying dolphin fish on your chest?"
Toph grabbed one of the towels as the woman bent down to pick up the stones from the floor with a muffled grunt. Toph wiped her feet and threw the muddy towel on the floor, much to the woman's exasperation.
"Just wait until the festival!" Aang said. "The Fire Nation has always had the best games and firework shows, and this time everyone is invited! The equinox is when both night and day are equal, so what better way to show everyone that they're not so different after all!"
"Yeah yeah, you keep saying that," Toph said. "I'm gonna go see what Snoozles and his Pebbles-Puddles-Puffs are up to."
"Alright, say hi for me," Aang said, then turned his attention back to the masseur. "The monks used a mixture of blackberries and..."
But Toph didn't hear what the rest of the ingredients were as she eagerly followed the shuddering bangs coming from the yard.
"Looking good, everyone!" Sokka shouted. He had painted his face in his nation's war colors, wore one of the fire soldier helmets, and had the belt Toph had won at the Earth Rumble tied around his waist.
If Toph could have seen him she would have informed him that he looked ridiculous, but she was content with sensing through her feet how Sokka's so-called new recruits were doing.
The young Earth Kingdom fighters had already moved on to wielding boulders the size of beach balls that they tossed at each other, building walls out of the stone slabs to protect themselves or ramps to send them back toward their opponent.
"And the Firebenders have come to master their fire whips," Sokka explained proudly. "Now they have to surround the wooden dummies without actually touching them." But judging by the way he slapped his forehead and the smell of burnt wood that followed, Toph knew that the Firebenders still had a long way to go.
"And the Puddles?" she asked.
"Oh yeah," Sokka regained the excitement in his voice. "Ice arrows, it was my idea! They take the water from the buckets, freeze it, and then they have to hit the target! It's good practice because the Northern Tribe is used to being surrounded by ice so they know how to turn ice into water but not the other way around!"
Toph felt a particularly strong tremor in the ground provoked by two beach balls slamming into each other causing one of the Firebenders to lose her footing and send a fiery whip over the head of one of the struggling Water Warriors. The ice arrow he was trying to shape melted before his eyes and dropped with a splash back into the bucket. The young Warrior grumbled and marched up to Sokka.
"I don't know what kind of operation you're trying to run here, but I can't work under these conditions!"
"Ah, Hahn," Sokka said, listlessly. "You know, since you got here all you did was question my leadership skills. I may have to revoke your rights as Captain of the Water Brigade, young man."
"I'm two years older than you!"
"Yeah, yeah, all I hear is complaining. You know, I only chose you based on Master Pakku's recommendation, and if it weren't for my Gramp-Gramp, I'd be tempted to change my mind."
Toph heard Hahn clench that protruding jaw of his.
"Is one thing that we accepted their peace offerings so easily, now you expect us to defend their territory?!"
"I already told you, the United Army is meant to defend all three nations, not just the Fire Nation. That's why it's essential we all work together!"
"Well, I still don't trust them!" Hahn said, then turned and pointed at the Firebender who had misdirected her whip earlier. "You did that on purpose!"
"Hey, I wouldn't have missed if the Earthbenders were more careful! If I didn't know any better, I'd say you guys are trying to tear down our palace!"
"Come on, Ming, you know that's not true!" said Haru, who, according to Sokka, had finally gotten rid of that ridiculous mustache.
Ming, who had been one of the guards of the Fire Prison and had been chosen as the leader of the Fire division at the recommendation of General Iroh, sighed softly and decided to redirect her anger to Hahn.
"It didn't even touch you!" she said.
"So what? Are we waiting for that to happen only because our dearest Supreme Commander is incapable of providing us with the necessary equipment?"
"What are you talking about?" Sokka demanded.
"Um, not that I question your methods, Sokka," Haru said gently. "But maybe Ming is right. I'm not sure if the Caldera Palace courtyard is big enough for us all to train here."
"At least you have something to train with," Hahn said. "You only gave us a teensy bucket of water each! You'd think you'd pay more respect to your own kind!"
Ming scoffed. "What? Now you expect special treatment?"
"Special treatment? Look around you! You didn't have to leave your homeland behind like the rest of us! So who's got the advantage here?!"
"Maybe you could use the water from the Turtle-duck Pond," Haru suggested.
"Oh no, Zuko would go bonkers if we did that," Sokka said.
"Then what do you propose?" Hahn snapped.
"Just give me a minute and I'll think of something, guys, I swear!"
Toph could tell the three weren't too convinced, even as they all returned to their positions.
"You have no idea what you're going to do, do you?"
"Of course I do Toph! If the five of us could work together, then so can they!" Sokka said.
"So you still think this was a good idea?"
"Just imagine how powerful an army of Earth, Fire, and Water Warriors would be like! Just a bit more training and they'll be practically unstoppable!"
"If you say so," said Toph who probably would have rolled her eyes if she knew how. "Hey, is that smoke?"
"Um, could you guys lend us a bucket?"
"What?! No! Get your own water!"
"Oh, not again," Sokka sighed, rushing over before another argument could arise.
"I really think you should be a little more thoughtful, Zuko," Katara said.
"Okay, next time we'll use regular candles."
Katara rubbed the bridge of her nose. "That's not what I meant, but you wasted two hours of the meeting talking about ribbons and Flaming Fire Flakes!"
"Katara, it's important that everything is perfect for this year's Fall Equinox Festival. People from all over the world are coming! We have to show them that they're welcome!"
"But what about the settler issue?" she asked, unfolding her scroll that almost stretched to the floor.
"We'll have plenty of time for that later."
Katara opened her mouth to protest only to be interrupted by the royal messenger slamming open the doors of the otherwise deserted meeting room.
"Ah, Rako, isn't it?" Zuko asked.
"Actually it's Riku, your highness, but that's unimportant right now. There are some men outside who say they need to see you right away!"
"Then what are you waiting for, call them in."
"Uh, actually I don't know if that's such a good idea, sir. You see, they seem pretty savage— uh I mean strange!"
"What?"
"Well, they said they are called the Sun Warriors so I'm not quite sure what that means."
Zuko's good eye widened considerably.
"Katara, cancel all my afternoon appointments!"
"What?"
But before she could say another word Zuko bolted for the door.
"Riku, hold my scroll," she mumbled, leaving a very confused royal messenger behind.
This was going to be a long day.