So, breakfast was kind of awkward for the following reasons: Shang kept shooting me these looks that I could tell were meant to make me spill my guts or something, but they weren't working; my mother kept glancing between me and Shang, as well, probably wondering what transpired earlier; and, well, we were in the Firelord's palace, and one could only be so comfortable sitting at his table eating his food with his family when you'd previously dragged his son out in the rain and gotten him drenched. On the bright side, the food was great.
The rain still fell outside and I had a whole day left to kill, and the problem was I had no idea how.
"Jade," Shang called, catching up to me as I made my way back down the corridor to my room.
"Yeah?" I responded.
"We've got some time on our hands; wanna take a walk?" he offered.
"Take a walk?" I repeated with a giggle. "I'm intrigued." I said sarcastically. He made a face.
"Alright, be ungrateful," he replied playfully, "last time I checked it isn't every day the fire prince offers to give you your own personal tour around the Fire Nation."
"Hey, you just said 'take a walk,'" I defended myself, "And besides, it's raining."
"I thought you liked the rain," he taunted, "and besides, there's a nifty little invention we call an umbrella around these parts. Ever heard of it?" He gave me an annoyingly attractive smile; it was more of a smirk, though, because he knew he was right.
"Fine," I accepted almost snidely.
As it turned out, most all of the shops and speculations of the Fire Nation still functioned, despite the rain. It was a spectacular sight: all of the residents of the Fire Nation bustling around under their parasols, carrying their baskets, and, well, going about their everyday life. It's true, I knew, that not everyone would be at the marketplace on such a 'dreary' day, but I was still astounded nonetheless at the large number of people that surrounded us.
Shang kept offering to buy me things, and I, of course, humbly rejected his offers each time. I didn't want him spending his money on me even if he was basically the richest person in the Fire Nation. It wasn't right.
On an unrelated note, I was thoroughly amused by all of the jealous stares I was receiving, Obviously, Shang was popular among the young women of the Fire Nation. Girls are pathetic, really. And besides, just because I'm walking under his umbrella doesn't mean we're going to end up married, except, oh wait- we might. But it won't be my fault, I assure you, no matter how fond I was getting of him… But that's not to say I wanted to marry him.
For lunch, we didn't return to the palace. Instead, Shang sat looking almost out of place if you knew who he was (and 99% of the Fire Nation did), with me in a teahouse just outside of the main marketplace. A happy, fat, graying man served us tea and small sandwiches, which were delightful. Whenever the man came by, though, Shang got quiet.
"That guy kind of reminds me of my great uncle," he told me once, after the jolly man left. "He owned a tea shop in Ba Sing Se. I didn't know him that well, but I always loved it when he came to visit. He made the most amazing tea in the world. He was really funny, too. He was basically my grandfather, really. I mean… My real grandfather…" he trailed off when he spoke, obviously feeling the shame of his nation's past. I understood; I put my hand on his on top of the table to show my support.
"It's fine. The war was hard everyone. Even, well, us: the next generation."
And then it struck me. My father was the one to end the reign of his grandfather. And now his father wanted us to marry. For peace. What kind of crazy junk was that?
Shang just nodded at my consolation, and the rest of our meal was painfully silent. Conversation revived itself once we left the tea shop and made our way back to the palace to prepare for the peace dinner, though.
When we walked back in the dining hall, it was decorated ornately. Obviously, the peace dinners were more important on the imperial scale than I'd originally imagined. Shang, obviously, wasn't phased, and went on his way to prepare. I decided that I should, as well, and that was what I did, silently wondering what the peace dinner would really hold…