8 Years in the Future

Chapter 1: Letters from a King and Queen

Part 5: The Fire Lord and Queen


All the letters and invitations had been sent.

Lord Zuko rested his calloused hands on the stone ledge of a palace window. He looked at his hands and noticed the scars and the rough spots. They should not have been the hands of a King. And yet there he was, six years after being crowned.

If he had finished growing up in the palace, he could have had true royal hands, smooth, and perfect, graceful and nimble. But now, they were hard, and coarse and flawed. They had become the product of not only living like a refugee, but after the coronation, they had suffered from Zuko's stubbornness. A King should not work in the dirt and the grime amidst peasants, his royal advisors would tell him.

But Zuko didn't care. Whenever he had time away from his constant responsibilities as Fire Lord, he was out there day and night repairing and restoring the homes, and towns, and cities of the fire nation. Many times going beyond the borders of their land to help those communities of the water tribes and the earth kingdom, which had been ravaged by the last hundred years.

And now, he looked at his hands.

"They're warm hands Zuko."

He looked to his side where Katara had come in. She had grown tall, and willowy. Her dark smooth skin still radiated, and her hair was long, much longer than it had been when she was an adolescent, and it fell in waves down her back. Her ocean eyes were always full of serenity, only now, they held a hard earned wisdom as well. She dressed in reds, appearing the living embodiment of her adopted home, yet secretly she missed the calming blues of her childhood. The southern water tribe beauty now looked out over the kingdom with him as a queen of a foreign nation.

She placed her hands on top of his, feeling his cracked skin. Zuko looked at her copper colored hands. She wore no jewelry, no fineries. All the excess wealth the palace had accumulated over the years went to the restoration funds.

Zuko swallowed as he held her hands, and for the first time realized how similar they had become to his. No longer were they silky and soft like they had once been. He rubbed his fingers over her blemished ones and her abrasive palms. She had been with him every humble step of the way, helping him bring back honor and dignity to the throne of the fire lord.

"I'm sorry. I never thought being Fire Lord would mean…"

"Sacrifice?" she offered when he hesitated.

He nodded. "Your hands, our lives..."

"Have been good ones Zuko. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"It's been hard. So very hard."

She rested her head upon his shoulder.

"We never thought it would be easy."

"The rebels are planning to destroy the peace we've worked so hard to achieve."

"We'll stop them. You've got to have hope Zuko. You've already done so much for your people. For the entire world."

"Sometimes I don't know if I can help anyone. Look at me, I'm a beaten man."

She turned to him and really looked at his appearance. She sighed. He was right, to a random passerby, Zuko would appear to be a trodden man. He dressed in browns and reds, and in fabric not entirely fitting for a king. She had done all she could to heal the scar Fire Lord Ozai had given him over his left eye, but it persisted on remaining a part of his features. His ebony hair and beard were well kept, but his face, and especially his golden eyes, looked tired. His skin had become dry from all his work in the sun, and tanner then it had once been.

But he had grown into a hearty man, large in stature, and well toned, the obvious result of an ample amount of hard work outdoors. He stood out among the other nobles of the court. He had a robust presence in a room full of pale, slender people.

Katara took his face in her hands and turned him towards her.

"What I see is the most benevolent Fire Lord the world has ever seen. Someone who's seen the bad times, plenty of those, and received his fair share of pain. And yet, he's too tenacious to stand by while someone else is suffering. Face it Zuko, you're one of the good guys. You're a strong man, and I couldn't love you any less."

She wrapped her arms around him and brought him closer. She kissed him. He held her, and kissed her back. Her hands felt gentle and soothing, contrary to their appearance. He loved this woman with all his heart and soul, and was amazed everyday by her ceaseless endurance by his side.

Katara rested her forehead against Zuko's as she whispered, "Your hands are good hands."