A/N Thank you to everyone who clicked on this story. ATLA is my favorite show and I think it is perfect so I didn't think I would ever write anything for it. However, I was rewatching season 2 (for the hundreth time) and I just thought about how fortunate Aang was that Tom-Tom's parents were outside that night. Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA. Anyway, enjoy!
"Oh, Ukano! What are we going to do?" Michi wailed. Her baby. Her beautiful baby; ripped away from her cruelly by those- those people. She would never see her sweet Tom-Tom again and it was all the resistance's fault. He was perfect. A perfect baby. He was happy and smart and he had the most wonderful baby smell. Her favorite things about him had been his hands and his little tuft of hair at the top of his head. He had small, chubby little hands that loved to grab at her to hold him and loved to hug her neck as she held him. He was her angel and in an instant, he was ripped away from her and her husband. He wasn't just their baby but their future. He was their legacy. Mai never talked to them and her job in the world was to marry a noble and help support and continue her husband's legacy. They didn't put her through the Royal Fire Academy for Girls for nothing. She had connections to some of the wealthiest and well known families and with them, she could easily find a husband. So, it was a great joy and a wonderful surprise when her and her husband were blessed and surprised with not only another child but a boy. Then Ukano had been appointed governor of one of the largest, oldest, and last free earth Kingdom city besides Ba Sing Se. They didn't anticipate a resistance. Their king had been old and from what they were told, he simply surrendered. She and Ukano had not expected anyone to be loyal to such a weak king. Yet there was a resistance and they took Tom-Tom away. Now, they had nothing. Their daughter left them, their son was taken, and they were in an unknown land with almost no people.
"I don't know, Michi…" Ukano said. He sounded resigned, empty. He had been so excited. Michi had been so excited for him. He was going to be a governor. She knew her husband so well. He had always struggled with his brother and their sibling rivalry. His brother who was in charge of the largest prison in the nation. Ukano as the older brother was bitter and jealous. Their family was high up, but Ukano did not have a position like his brother. Now he did, but what else did he have? This was a great honor, but it had torn their lives apart literally. This was no longer the place her husband ruled but the place she lost her children. There was no one in the city of importance and no point in staying in Michi's eyes.
"We can't stay. Ukano, I understand how much this position meant to you. I know how important it was. But now… I can't stay in this place. It's not the same not after Tom-Tom., not without him. We have to leave. There are no citizens to rule, we don't need to stay. If Fire Lord Ozai wants to appoint a new governor he can. He will understand. He will be sending orders for us to leave here soon anyway. Please, I cannot stay here any longer. I want to leave. I want to go home and try to move on from all the horrible things that have happened here."
"Michi… I-I. We should- we need to wait for the Fire Lord's direct orders. It's treason if we defy his orders."
"Please, Ukano. I can't sleep in this room tonight, not with his crib here!" Michi pleaded. She couldn't look at his things. When they got home, she would go into town and wait until her husband removed everything of Tom-Tom's from her line of sight. She did not want to look at it. It would all be a cruel reminder of the son she should have, who she should be rocking and kissing and playing with. She needed to get away from all of it. She no longer cared about her family's position of even the Fire Lord. However, as she was weeping in her husband's arms, they were interrupted. The soldier cleared his throat and handed a letter to Ukano.
"A black ribbon message, Governor," the soldier said, bowing respectively. Ukano opened it and allowed Michi to read with him.
Governor Ukano, I placed you in what is now the city of New Ozai with the highest expectations of success. You were to govern the greatest Earth Kingdom colony. However, my daughter sent word of what has happened. She has… been generous and seems to pity you and find no fault in your treacherous actions. You freed tyrants and peasants,leaving the city without labor for my statue. However, your daughter's friendship with mine has saved you. You are no longer governor of New Ozai. You may return to the FIre Nation or you may remain in the city. If you choose to return you may reinstate your position on the war council. However, you will stay in that position as punishment for your failure in my new city. You are lucky you are not a prisoner of your brother's prison for this terrible act. Do not fail me again, Ukano.
Fire Lord Ozai
"Oh, Thank goodness. Ukano, can we leave. The Fire Lord has been most merciful to us," Michi said. It was the best letter they could have received from their kind Fire Lord. Thankfully, her husband agreed and he slowly lowered the letter and nodded.
"We leave tomorrow morning. Go to bed Michi. I will pack," Ukano instructed his wife. Michi left their room and entered a guest bedroom. She laid down and sobbed. She cried tears of grief, relief, and guilt. She felt like she was betrying Tom-Tom in leaving the last place he had called home. He was sure to be treated as a prisoner by those cruel, manipulative people. She grieved for what she had lost and her son's grim future. Most of all she cried of relief that they were leaving this nightmare. It was the first step towards her healing. She needed to move on and find a new normal outside of what her life had been the last 19 months. She had carried her son for eight to nine months within her and he clung to her often the other ten of his life. A large part of her left with her son and she needed to learn to live with that hole in her life. She was losing more and more as they stayed in New Ozai. They needed to leave. Morning couldn't come sooner.