Zuko

The announcement to the nation went well but I didn't expect anything less. I had learned over the years that my people were generally warm and loving. However, I was a bit concerned about when word got out about where Sam was from. In the meantime, it was time for her to meet my councilmen.

I didn't look forward to this. Not because I was embarrassed of Sam but because these men could be…not so kind. With the rumors already circulating through the palace, they would have heard by now that she is not from the Bending Nations and I expected some push back about it, which I was prepared to quell quickly.

We headed back to our bedroom so that Sam could remove the cape and meet them in this gown that Yin had completed for Sam. I hadn't seen the whole thing yet because the cape covered most of it. But I had seen Yin's handiwork before and had no doubt it would be anything but stunning.

When we got there, Nan helped Sam remove the cape and Sam's back was to me. The back of the bodice was open but laced together with beautiful gold ribbon. I thought she looked absolutely stunning. But then, she turned around. The bodice of the dress did wonders for Sam's figure. It hugged just the right places and held her breasts in a very complimentary manner. I'd be lying if I wasn't turned on.

"Sam, you look…exquisite." I said simply. "It really isn't fair to my councilmen to meet you like this." Sam blushed crimson at my compliment. When she was ready, I offered her my arm and lead her into the council chamber. I had every intention of bringing her here regularly, to all of our meetings. My councilmen didn't know that yet. In fact, Sam didn't either I mused.

When we arrived at the council chamber, I walked into the room first and brought her in behind me, hand in mine. The councilmen all looked up at us and then looked at her. It wasn't hard for me to see exactly what they were thinking. These men did not have good Pai Sho faces. I lead Sam to our seats - mine at the head of the table and her to my right.

"Councilmen, I would like for you to meet my wife, and our new Fire Lady, Samyah." I held my hand out gesturing to Sam. They murmured half-hearted greetings to her. Sam ducked her head in a respectful bow to them, but didn't say anything.

One of the councilmen spoke, "What makes you think she will be a good Fire Lady, Zuko? She is nobody. Not even born of noble birth. Why would you marry such a…person?"

I could feel Sam stiffen at this accusation. I looked at him, piercing my eyes through him, "Councilman Chong. Are you questioning the judgment of your Fire Lord? Do I need to remind you of your place here? Again?" I continued to glare at him, "who I deem worthy of being the next Fire Lady is up to my discretion and my discretion alone, is it not?"

The councilman glared back at me. This man did not like being put in his place, and it was something I had to do quite often. "Of course, your majesty. I was only saying-"

"You were only saying that I am not capable of running my nation and choosing a wife." I interrupted him. "Keep in mind your place, Councilman." I repeated. "You are not the Fire Lord here. I am."

The councilman's face screwed up in fury. His voice rose to a shout. "So first you come and usurp the throne from your father who kept this nation strong, then you let the avatar bully you into making decisions that are against the best interest of your people and now you decide to bring in an outsider?!" the way he said that last word sounded like it felt dirty in his mouth, "someone who is not worthy of walking on bending nation soil let alone rule beside you."

That did it. I slammed my fists hard on the table and stood up. Sam jumped at this but did not dare move. I shouted at Chong.

"Councilman Chong! I would urge you to temper your tongue! You are on thin ice and I suggest you tread lightly as you are wandering dangerously close to treason! You are a mere member of the council and nothing more. I would caution you on the next words our of your mouth. You will treat me with respect and you will treat my wife with respect. If you are not able to do this, then we will have to talk about your place as nobility in the Fire Nation. Do I make myself clear?"

Chong glared at me and opened his mouth to argue. I repeated my last sentence. "DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!"

He didn't say a word but simply bowed his head in submission.

Through this whole ordeal, Sam was quiet. I finally stole a look at her, she was staring up at me in shock. She'd never seen me get angry like that yet. This level of anger was reserved for my councilmen. She will have to get used to it I thought. I squeezed her hand in reassurance.

"Now, does anyone else have anything they would like to add?" I challenged. There were all silent. If someone else had, I might have lost my temper completely. "Good. I will be taking leave for the rest of the day. Have anything you would like considered sent to my office. I will see you all in the morning."

I escorted Sam out of the chamber and we headed back to the bedroom. As much as I loved seeing her in this dress, I knew she would want to change into something less…official.

Sam

Well, that went swimmingly I thought to myself as we left the chamber.

"Who was that man?" I asked Zuko.

The scowl returning to his face. "That was Councilman Chong. He has been the most outspoken against my reign. He feels that Ozai did a better job than me. He tells me that I am weak and I make the Fire Nation weak by ending the 100 Year War." Zuko's eye rolled down to meet mine, "he is the one I told you about before."

"Why would he want to continue the war?"

"Because some people see peace as weakness and not as strength. Truthfully, I do my best at this job but sometimes, I don't feel like I know what I'm even doing." Zuko admitted.

"With councilmen like that, I can see why you would doubt yourself but from what I've seen, you do this job handsomely. He is…an awful man. Why do you keep him on the council? And what did you mean about talking about his place as being a noble?"

"I keep him on the council because he is the only representative of Shin Shu - a province within the Fire Nation." He added when he saw what I was going to ask. "As for his nobility. I can remove him from nobility status if it calls for it. It isn't an easy or smooth process which is why I haven't done it. I have to make a strong case against him. If I just remove him then there will be conflict between the cities and provinces of the Fire Nation. I actually have been building a case against him for years now. I am just waiting for the right moment to make my move." I was surprised he was telling me this. We had been married only for a few days, five days, to be exact. He has no reason to trust me, yet here we are.

"Then what? You won't have representation for Shin Shu then."

"No, I wouldn't. That is when I would appoint someone else to councilman."

"Do you have anyone in mind?"

"A couple of people, yes."

We arrived at our room and went inside. Nan was there, as always. Zuko gave her the rest of the day off and told the staff we were not to be disturbed. He took the rest of the day off but did say he will have to review some proposals later this evening. He wanted to spend time together - just him and me. I had no objection to that. There were clothes laying on the bed - presumably for me. They were made in a similar fashion as my Earth Kingdom clothing but more to the Fire Nation style. I never thought I would like them but I did. I loved them. Yin was a phenomenal seamstress. I picked up the outfit, pants and a tunic. "You need to consider giving this woman a raise. Her work is beyond fantastic."

Zuko helped me out of my dress. He was a bit unsure about the laces but he muddled through. When we had the whole gown off, I walked over to the mirror. Many of my bruises were now yellowing and starting to fade. My large bruise across my ribs was still dark but it was starting to yellow around the edges too. The same with my face. The red eye was going to take some more time to heal. I knew those took a few weeks to completely disappear.

I saw Zuko appear behind me and he put his hands on my shoulders and kissed my neck. We hadn't been intimate since my outburst on the ship. I wasn't sure I was ready for it, although I wanted him. Badly. I reached my hand up and placed it on the back of his neck. I turned my face to his and kissed his lips. I kept our lips pressed together for longer than necessary. I pulled away and looked at him. He smiled at me, but I could tell he, too, was holding back.

To hell with caution I told myself. I turned around, facing him and wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my body against his. He instinctively wrapped his arms around my back and pressed me harder into himself. He picked me up, walked us over to the bed and laid me down on my back.

"Are you sure?" He asked me, pulling back. Of course he wanted to - I had felt his arousal when I pressed against him. He wanted to make sure I wasn't going to run screaming down the halls. It would give the servants something to talk about I mused silently.

I didn't answer. Not verbally anyway. I reached behind his neck again and pulled him back to me. We worked on getting his clothes off, which I noticed was a lot more layers than I thought. He went slowly - more slow than necessary. Cautious to not trigger me again. I opened myself to him once again and he accepted the invitation.

When we finished, we laid on our backs next to each other, reveling in our rediscovered closeness. I was happy we found our way back to each other. I rolled over and nestled into our favorite position.

"So, is this what we are going to do for the rest of the day?" I had asked Zuko. I guessed it was around two in the afternoon. I couldn't help but wonder what he had planned.

"For right now? Yes." he said, his trapped arm bent behind my back stroking my arm with the tips of his fingers. I didn't argue. I was happy just how we were. We laid like this for a while and we both drifted off into a peaceful nap.