The Earth Kingdom Revisited

Epilogue

"There's no news on Hui Jian, sir. His name is on a list of prisoners in General Yi's archives. We know that the prisoners were sent to a work camp the next province over. But we still can't find any records of what went on there."

Thank you, Su. Please continue to dig around and look for more information. I would love to give Song some good news about her father."

"With respect sir, chances are great that the girl's father is dead."

Zuko sighed heavily. He lifted his hand, ready to run it through his hair but stopped at the last moment, remembering his formal topknot. "I still have hope," he replied. "I want you to exhaust all possible avenues of research. When that's done and we still haven't found him, I'll accept that we probably never will. You can go, Su."

The Fire Lord reached for his writing utensils and smoothed out a piece of parchment. His hand hovered over the ink while he thought. Finally, he dipped the brush and began his letter.

Dear Song,

I'm so glad that you got those plants I sent you. If you need more, let me know. Our gardener enjoyed his journey and visit with you. I'm sure that he'll be more than glad to go again.

On a sadder note, I'm still looking into your father, what may have happened to him and where he could be. As of now, all we know is that he and the rest of the men from your village were sent to a work camp in the next province. So far, we have no records from the work camp itself.

I truly wish that I had more information for you, Song. I'm using the best people I have and they are working hard. Perhaps soon we'll learn more.

Sincerely,

Zuko

While the ink dried, Zuko rose from his chair and walked over to the large window in his office. The door opened quietly behind him.

"Zuko, are you all right?" Mai asked. She approached her soon to be husband slowly and wrapped her arms around him from behind.

"I'm just fine," Zuko replied, covering her hands with his own.

"I know you were hoping for good news about Song's father. I'm sorry."

Zuko turned around to face Mai. "I'm not giving up yet. We still have some searching to do."

"You never give up," Mai responded with a smile. "That's one of the things I love about you."

Smiling contentedly, Zuko placed a chaste kiss on Mai's cheek. "I'm going to send this letter and then we can leave for Piandao's, okay?" he asked.

"I'm ready when you are. You know, your mother's only been there a month and it's like she belongs there. I think she has a bit of a crush on Piandao."

Zuko blushed and fumblingly began rolling up the parchment. "I'd rather not talk about that, Mai. Besides, she's still married to Ozai."

"Well, you can change that, can't you?" Mai inquired.

"I suppose I can."

"Your mother deserves happiness, Zuko. If she finds it with Piandao, who are we to judge?"

"I know. I love that she's so happy. And you know how I feel about Piandao."

"Good," Mai declared. "Tell her that today when you see her."

"Fine," Zuko surrendered. "Do you know who else she's taken quite a liking to?"

"The butler?" Mai dead panned.

"No, Mai, she adores you. I'm really glad that the two of you get along."

"So am I," Mai agreed. She paused for a moment. "Even though I missed you, a lot of good things came out of that trip to the Earth Kingdom you took. Maybe we should take one together soon."

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Author's note: And so it ends. This epilogue is actually the second one that I wrote. The first one was too long and seemed more like an unnecessary chapter.

There are some possibilities for sequels. I deliberately left some things open ended or unanswered. In many ways, this story told itself. It changed a lot from my original plan.

I hope you enjoyed reading even just a little bit. Reviews are always welcome.

Thanks!