VI Recession

Zuko flicked through page after page of the documents that had piled up on his desk. Empty bottles of ink littered the floor and so did the remains of many charred brushes.

He had been lucky enough to inherit the throne of the fire nation just as it went into a recession. With an increasing amount of civilians out of a job because of the extermination of most of the fire nation army and with a current baby boom, economy value was dangerously low.

Not only that, but food resources were getting scarcer by the day. He had recently signed a treaty with the earth kingdom that could relieve the farmer's of most of their stress of feeding a growing nation, but the Earth kingdom had barely enough rice for themselves.

So as he strained his eyes, reading through the long documents and letters that would determine his country's future, he couldn't help but let his mind wander.

It had been almost a year since he had last seen Mai. He had instructed the former governor of new Ozai to take a post over at Omashu to help rebuild the community. Of course this was being done under the watchful eye of King Bumi. As far as he had heard, progress was great and the city was almost to its former glory.

But both the governor and his wife insisted on Mai going with them, much to her disliking. Their reasons were that they didn't trust leaving tom tom alone in that city, even though he was much older, and would rather a member of their one family mind him when they could not.

Of course Mai did not object, like she was taught to since her childhood, and merely mumbled a farewell to Zuko before boarding the air ship.

At first he had been sad. But as the effects of the recession continued to get worse, he had been too distracted to notice. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and rolled up the newly signed scroll before unfurling another. This one was a letter from his uncle, and he was immediately snapped out of his day dream state to read it.

It was the first new he had heard from his uncle since his going back to re open his tea shop, 'The Jasmine Dragon'.

Zuko lit an extra candle on the wall behind him and read the letter out loud.

Dear Zuko,

I have heard of the disheartening news of the fire nation and offer this advice. You must always bite into the cloud sandwich before you find the silver lining.

Zuko's hand made contact with his forehead and he noted mentally never to impersonate his uncle again, never the less tell him about it.

I know the stress you must be going through, and the recession isn't something that is going to fix itself overnight. I suggest you take a small vacation and put one of the advisors in charge. They are quite capable of dealing with the paperwork and will give you a much needed rest.

The Jasmine Dragon is doing great. I am getting customers even from the water tribes now and it seems my tea has become a world favourite.

I hope your well and wish to see a visit from you in the near future.

Iroh

Zuko read through the letter again. He then rolled it up and set it down on the desk. He looked around his office briefly. The side walls were covered with a cabinet that was stuffed with scrolls. His desk was buried apart from his working space, and the wooden floor sported ink smudges where the bottles had been accidentally knocked away due to the lack of space.

He gave a disheartening sigh and rose to a standing position and making his way over to the door.

He opened it to find a guard on duty outside.

"Guard. Fetch one of my royal advisors if you please. I will be in my room."

The guard nodded obediently. Zuko found it near impossible to memorise all of his guards faces since they were always hidden behind the ghostly white masks. So he never made an effort to, and it seemed no one expected him to either.

He then began the walk back to his room. The corridors were long and lonely. Only the occasional chatter from servents behind doors could be heard in their silence. It was almost unneriving. But he could also use it to his advantage.

Their had been an increasing number of vigilante groups all over the world, or so he was told. Rumour around the palace was that there was several that were determined on revoking Zuko of the title fire lord. There were also rumours that one of these groups had been established by his father to de-throne him. But after a recent visit to the former fire lord Ozai, he knew that this wasn't true. If it were even possible, his father had become even more delirious in his years in prison. There was no way that he was making contact with the outside world, let alone operating his own organisation bent on mutiny.

So with the silence of the palace came his upper hand. He could hear footsteps coming towards him from the other end of the castle. A sneak attack was near impossible. Not only that, but guards were situated around every corner. No vigilante was getting in without being notice any time soon.

And just as he train of though finished, he heard hurried footsteps against the hardwood floors. He turned on his heel to see his oldest advisor, scurrying as fast as his scrawny legs could carry him. For a man as old as he was, he sure could move.

"Fire Lord Zuko." Stopping a few feet in front of him, he put his palm to his fist and bowed respectfully. Zuko nodded his head in recognition.

"Advisor Delun. I will be leaving this afternoon for the earth kingdom. I need you to temporarily to take over my duties here in the fire nation."

Delun seemed almost relieved at the news. With the recent stress that Zuko had been under, there had been threats of firing a few servants. So he graciously bowed again, hiding his smile in the process.

"In turn I will need you to alert the airship crew. I'm entrusting you with a great responsibility, I'm positive that you will be able to handle it."

The advisor nodded vigourously. "Yes Fire Lord, right away." and with that he scurried off again, this time with a spring in his step.

Zuko turned and continued his way to his room. He reached the large oak doors and pushed them open. A maid inside quickly dropped to the floor and apologised repeatedly.

"Its ok. In fact, I need you to do something for me. I need you to pack me some of my things, I will be visiting my uncle this afternoon."

The wind rushing against the airship was cold and strong. The ocean had come into view now that the airship had risen to its full altitude.

The fire nation city looked so peaceful from the air. The street lights were only just being lit as Agni made his daily journey into the ocean. The sun gave them their power, and so with its retirement, the fire nation rested. It was the only time of the day that the recession meant nothing.

Already, Zuko felt relieved. He was leaving his duties behind for the time being to just relax. He hadn't done so since becoming fore lord, and the thought was bringing on a wave of sleep. He could feel it. He lt go of the railing and walked inside. The airship was just a cosier version of a fire nation naval ship. It wasn't designed for war, but rather for comfort. He made his way through the main sitting room to a metal door. He turned the hatch that served as the knob and walked inside. It was practically a reflection of his room back in the palace, only smaller.

He removed his robe and crawled in under the silky sheets. A small fire crackled in the corner, flicking a yellow light over the large fire nation banner hanging on the wall. He stared at the large insignia until his eyelids grew heavy and he drifted into a long awaited sleep.

Zuko Deserved his own personal chapter, seeing as he hadn't been mentioned yet.

I was going to flick back to the south pole, but I'm sure Aang will get over it XD

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