Y'all are gonna love this one. :)
The trip farther inland was uneventful save for the few excited receptions given to Aang in passing as the group passed through the tiny villages that lay between Li Suing and Kireiea. During those times, Shoji always made certain to fall in step with Zuko just in case he wasa recognized as the Fire Lord and the excited villagers turned rabid with Fire Nation hatred.
Shades of pink, orange, and violet streaked the darkening blue of the sky as the sun slipped below the horizon. Zuko had forgotten how beautiful twilight was in the Earth Kingdom. Here the leaves of the trees caught the light and were set ablaze with the colors. In the Fire Nation there were significantly fewer trees.
"I think I see a city," Yukya spoke up several yards in front of the four adults.
Aang smiled at her. "We should be getting close by now. I think you'll enjoy Kireiea, Yukya. There are benders of all sorts that live there."
"Really?" Both females and Zuko asked simultaneously.
"Yes," Aang replied. "It's the strangest thing, but it's really cool. There are Fire-, Water-, and Earthbenders that live together like it was the most natural thing. I'm really hoping that the world will be like that one day."
Zuko's brow furrowed as the Avatar's word sank in. He stayed silent as the others chatted idly. By the time they were at the low walls of the city, Zuko remembered the importance of Kireiea to him.
Natsuko, Uncle Iroh's long dead wife and his namesake, had been born in Kireiea.
"I know this place," Zuko said under his breath. Shoji's glance flickered to him, but the archer said nothing as the great doors embedded in the walls swung open to admit them to a waiting crowd.
True to Aang's word, the people were very different from one another yet they interacted with one another peacefully. A delighted wave of applause greeted the group as they made their way through the path made for them. It led through the city and to the great stairs leading up to the palace.
The entire palace was made of polished, dark brown stones that glimmered in the torches that had been lit for their arrival. Zuko was unsure of how the Kireieans had known of their approach, but he said nothing in complaint as the doors of the palace opened to admit them to the main receiving chamber of the king.
People crowded this area too, all clamoring to see the Avatar. The chamber itself was just as Iroh had described it to his nephew years before. The room was flanked by large marble columns bearing a single character of the Earth Kingdom alphabet wrought in gold on it. Underfoot the brown stones had become marble as well and lead to a dais set at the far end of the room. Upon the dais sat a simple throne carved of four stones with a silken cushion serving as the seat.
Before the throne stood a tall man who Zuko placed around his Uncle Iroh's age at the very least. At his side stood a younger woman who bore a striking resemblance to the man. They were both dark-skinned with broad foreheads crowned with widow's peaks. The man's eyes, however were a rich amber color and his nose wasvery much aquiline whereas the woman's nose was button like and her eyes a vibrant blue. Her hair was a deep brown and his was silver from age.
"King Kazuo, Princess Baruni," Aang greeted with a polite bow toward the dais. The rest of his group followed suit. "It's a pleasure to see you again."
Kazuo and Baruni returned the gesture.
"The pleasure is ours, Avatar Aang," the king replied.
"May I introduce the rest of my group," Aang said, turning to the others. "Yukya of the Southern Water Tribe, Katara, Water Mistress of the North Pole, and Zuko and Shoji of the Fire Nation."
Each member of the party inclined their heads at their introduction.
Kazuo grinned broadly and descended the steps with his arms wide. "Welcome to Kireiea. It is our honor to have you stay with us."
"We have prepared a dinner for you," Baruni said, coming down with her father. She held her skirts up the slightest bit to keep from tripping.
Katara smiled at that. "Then we should freshen up for dinner."
"Of course," Kazuo replied, his deep voice echoing in the great chamber. "My daughter and sister will show you to your rooms."
Baruni inclined her head towards the men before she started for a door off the right of the dais. "Follow me."
Aang, Zuko, and Shoji did as she told them to. Only Zuko gave a backwards glance towards to Katara and Yukya who were being lead in the opposite direction by another dark-haired woman who was younger than the king, but far older than Katara.
"Would you prefer to share a room or retain separate ones?" the king's sister asked as the trio walked down the hallway.
The hallway gave wave to an open veranda that wrapped about a large courtyard. Katara and Yukya both were astounded by the beauty of it. The trees towered over flowerbeds planted in the designs of lotuses and turtle-lions. A small stream fed a pond that reflected a great white marble pavilion built behind it.
"Lady Katara?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," the Waterbender replied with a slight flush. "I was swept up in how beautiful this place is."
The princess smiled knowingly. "Yes, I was rather astounded when I first came here too."
"You mean you didn't grow up here?"
"No. I was raised far away from here. I was an adult when I came to live with King Tyan, King Kazuo's father. He had lost his own daughter many years before that and readily accepted me into his family. Kazuo even took to referring to me as his sister." The princess smiled at the memory. "King Tyan was a good man. Kazuo is very much like him."
"When did he pass?"
"Oh goodness, it's been many years now. Died of a broken heart."
"Aunt Katara there are turtle-ducks in the pond!" Yukya exclaimed happily.
Katara smiled. "Go play if you want. I'll put our stuff in our room."
The young girl needed no other permission. In a heartbeat she left the two older women, forgetting all about her formal façade.
The two women laughed softly. "Your daughter?"
"Niece."
"Either way, treasure her. She could be gone before you know it."
Katara studied the woman closely. She had Fire Nation blood in her, that was certain. "What's your name, princess? I'm afraid I didn't catch it."
"Romin," she replied with a wry smile.
Romin led Katara along the porch in silence before she stopped and opened a set of narrow double doors. "This will be yours and our niece's room. Dinner-"
A gong sounded somewhere in the palace, making Katara jump. "-is ready. Join us whenever you wish."
With a polite bow to Katara, Romin left, presumably for dinner.
If Zuko had thought that the commotion of their arrival had been remarkable, he was not quite sure how to describe the chaos of dinner.
He had been seated across from Aang in the second chair of honor. Shoji was at his side and Katara at Aang's. Yukya was seated by her aunt and by her the King's sister.
The noise of the Great Dining Hall reverberated on the inside of the Fire Lord's skull. The dull ache in his head stirred up a mild case of nausea that made eating difficult. Instead he moved his food about the golden plate before him with his chopsticks.
"How do you like Kireiea, Lord Zuko?" the king asked suddenly.
Zuko's spine went rigid at the formality used by the Earthbenders for those of noble birth.
"It's beautiful," he responded after he cleared his throat. "I've never seen a more enchanting place."
Kazuo beamed. "My father always had good taste."
Zuko nodded his agreement and shifted his gaze from the king to the others he sat with. He was startled to find the king's sister staring back. She averted her eyes after a moment.
Her eyes were golden, a much lighter shade than her brother's. It made Zuko frown slightly.
The evening passed in merriment. It was nearing midnight when most of the relatives left for bed or to indulge in brandy. Katara had put Yukya to bed hours before, Aang was playing a game of Pai Sho with the king and Shoji was deep in discussion with the princess, Baruni. Zuko sipped a glass of brandy he had been given and watched the others with a smile. He enjoyed the tranquility of Kireiea and made a note to return for another visit once the business with his sister had been squared away.
"Zuko, come here!" Aang shouted happily from where he sat with the king. To their side sat the sister, playing a strange, stringed instrument.
The Fire Lord lifted himself from the chair and moved over to the trio who were all laughing.
"Zuko, Kazuo doesn't believe me about that incident on Kyoshi."
"Which one?" Zuko recalled the entire peace-treaty/apology trip from his youth had been worthy of a comedy play.
Aang laughed again. "You and the Elephant Koi."
The Fire Lord covered his eyes with his hand. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"
"Never!"
"So you really did ride the Elephant Koi?" the princess asked, her voice soft and amused.
Zuko nodded. "If you can call 'slipping off and getting bit on the backside by a eel-seal' riding, then yes I did, ma'am."
All four of them laughed again.
"Oh, Lord Zuko, you haven't met my sister, Romin."
"Romin?" Zuko looked at her with an arched brow. That was an unusual name.
Romin inclined her head. "My parents were unusual people."
The Fire Lord watched her as she laughed again. Romin was a pretty woman despite her age. Her golden eyes were kind and framed by laugh lines; her once dark hair was streaked with silver. The gentle oval of her face seemed familiar, but Zuko was not sure where he could have possibly met this woman before.
His humor ebbed with each of her movements. It was her smile, the smile that had been branded into his memory, that made Zuko's muscles completely relax, threatening to make him faint then and there from the shock of recognition.
"Romin," he managed to speak evenly. "Would you care to show me to back to my rooms in the South Wing? I'm afraid I've forgotten."
"Certainly." Setting aside her instrument, the princess gathered her light green silk skirts and excused herself from the Avatar and her brother.
Romin led Zuko out of the hall and onto the veranda that led to every guest room of the palace. The king and his direct family had rooms elsewhere that were far less easy to access. The two were silent until they reached Zuko's room.
"Here you are, Lord Zuko," Romin said, opening the doors for him. She smiled and folded her hands in front of her.
Zuko folded his arms across his chest as his brow furrowed when he looked at her.
"Romin…part Roku and part Ta Min, right?"
Romin stiffened, unsure of how to answer.
"Clever cover unless someone shares the same lineage, Princess Ursa."
Slowly, a smile spread across the princess's face. It was filled with joy, sorry, and pride, much like her golden eyes as she looked up to him.
"Iroh did well in raising you," she replied softly. "I wish it had been me."
Zuko felt something snap inside him. Any anger he could have felt over her not revealing herself right away vanished. Tears welled up in his eyes, but before they could fall, he wrapped his arms about the lithe woman and buried his face in her shoulder.
Ursa wrapped her arms about her son and soothingly stroked his hair. Tears lined her own eyes, but she blinked them back. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner, Zuko."
"I don't care, Mom," came his muffled reply. "You're alive."
"Yes, darling. I'm alive and I will never leave you again. I swear it."