Ikari doesn't remember falling asleep, she had no dreams that night but woke up the next morning exhausted anyways. The morning plays normally with Szeto asking Ikari to help with his hair, dressing and then moving to the dining room for breakfast. She almost expected to see Lai in the same place she always sat at the table, neither of their parents spoke of her absence. It wasn't even mentioned until Amula brought it up sheepishly.
"Mother, Father?" She asks whilst staring at her plate picking at the rice left there after eating her favorite parts of the meal first, Both of Ikari's parents looked up in response not meeting each other's gaze.
"I was wondering…where Lai is?" It's not an unusual question to ask, long ago when one of the children had been late to dinner their father had threatened to make them stand with their nose to the wall until the rest of them had finished eating. Ikari's parents relax at the question, Her mother clicks her tongue softly in a disapproving nature while her father grins with pride.
"Lai left early this morning." Ikari stiffens at the news, her heart beating faster, if they knew Lai left did they know about everything? About Lychee? She zones back in as he continues,
"She's going to a high standing military camp in the next town for a few weeks until school starts again. A car picked her up before any of us were awake." Ikari relaxes slightly, Lai always gets credit for her strength and skill but she was smart to give herself time to get as far as she can first. Amula nods returning to her food and her mother speaks next placing her utensils down hard enough the sound makes Ikari flinch,
"She should be here, preparing for her senior year and making wedding plans" Zoa ll waves off his wife scoffing slightly,
"The wedding isn't for two years, and there will be academics there as well you worry too much dear." The condensation dripping from her father makes Ikari cringe she can see her mother's eye twitch slightly before she shoots back,
"You don't worry enough Darling this isn't just a wedding but a royal wedding. I don't understand how you could agree to this without at least asking for my input?" The pet name drips with poison and the atmosphere turns thick and muggy. Ikari feels sick remembering how Lai told her their parent's resentment towards each other started with her inability to bend.
"I think you could understand Amayo, in fact I'd think you were an expert in the matter due to the fact there is to be a royal wedding at all." The shame and fear Ikari usually felt morphed into unbearable guilt, something she wasn't so used to keeping in. She tore her family apart just from being born, now she was lying and making them fight more.
"I'm doing what's best for our family and our daughter Zoa! I thought you'd be ecstatic! You and Ozun have been friends since grade school." Ikari didn't know what to do. She felt trapped in her seat at the table, nausea moved through her slowly like a disease settling in the back of her throat making her chest tight.
"I may have been ecstatic if I had a say at all in my oldest daughter's life? How could you sell out our little girl like that without even a conversation?" Ikari's mother glares at her husband across the table,
"Where's your precious little girl now? Where is she Zoa?! You've taken her away from us and now we have no way to watch her, to know what she's doing! She could be doing god knows what? At least this way we'll have eyes on her." Ikari's father stands suddenly seemingly becoming more angered by this conversation.
"I know exactly where she is! Just because you can't control her from here doesn't mean I have no idea what I'm doing by letting her go!" Ikari's mother stands up after him, bringing their argument to a head as their children sit like statues, heads low and mouths shut.
"You don't have to know everything! You don't have to control everyone at once Amaya!" Zoa ll yells his breathing becomes faster as the two work themselves up, his wife mirrors his mood almost perfectly. Ikari feels tears prick at her eyes, was all this fighting her fault? Would keeping quiet about Lai make things better or worse?
"Where is she then? What is she doing right now? She left when we were still asleep. She could be doing anything! You're too trusting of our children!" Ikari swallows hard, she's the only one who knows the truth about Lai, why did she even tell her?
"We have no reason not to trust them! They've done nothing to deserve twenty four seven monitoring!" Ikari reaches out slowly to grab her drink, her mouth was so dry but the last thing she wanted was to draw attention to herself.
"What about the bird in our backyard Zoa?! Lai could be in serious trouble." Ikari chokes on her drink coughing loudly, her parents only glare at each other but Amula pats her back softly until she can take a fresh breath. Lai lied to Ikari about her parents not knowing about Lychee, but also lied to her parents about who took him. Maybe her mother was right about all of them after all, maybe they needed to be watched constantly.
"So it's a crime to have a heart? That sounds actually pretty accurate in your case." Ikari's father spits and her mother gasps.
"Stealing from the family is a serious offense! I can not talk to you when you're like this!" she pulls her skirts up storming out of the room, Ikari wipes her now wet clothes with a napkin and her father turns his attention to her,
"For the love of… just go change! Everyone go" he dismisses her and she stands suddenly bowing and leaving the room herself her siblings follow shortly after.
Ikari can feel the tension in the house, she debates going to town for a while but doesn't wish to ask either of her parents permission. Instead she decided to take a walk in her backyard, fresh air was better than nothing. She walks to the garden, seeing her mother drinking tea and reading a book at a metal outdoor table under a gazebo in the middle of the flourishing plants, trees and flowers. Ikari bows to the older woman who waves her over pouring the girl some tea in her own cup. Ikari sits across from her mother watching her place a bookmark in her story and set it on the table.
"I apologize for this morning darling, I can't stand when your father gets that way." Ikari nods to her mother sipping from her cup, instantly recognizing the flavor as her mother's favorite Jade Dew tea.
"I do wish the best for Lai, and would even agree to let her go. I only wished to talk a little longer about her upcoming nuptials, every little girl dreams of their wedding, and every mother dreams of it as well." Ikari had never thought much about her wedding, she knew what kind of dress she liked and she knew she wanted to marry a boy. Everything else was lost on her.
"I understand mother." She agrees blindly, if her mother had voiced these concerns to the general, perhaps their fight wouldn't have been so fierce. Amayo loves when people agree with her, she slides a dessert plate over covered in small crumbly biscuits, dried raspberries mixed in with the hard dough as its only flavor. A symphony of tart and sweet to balance out the low notes of the tea and the basic taste the rest of the snack held. It was like a dense health bar but potentially very expensive. Of course the company who made such treats as well as the many tea and party counterparts was run by Ikari's uncle, passed down through generations. Her uncle had no children unfortunately so when he dies the company will go to either a distant relative or one of Ikari's siblings, most likely to Zoa lll.
"Your wedding will be on a lake, I've already decided that." Amayo smiles sipping her tea and thinking to herself her face looking wistful,
"There was even talk of you and the prince," Ikari chokes on her biscuit opting to bear the dry pain of swallowing it then to spit it out onto the table, her mind floods with the mental image of prince Zukon lifting her up from the fountain and smiling down at her.
"You and Jukon may have a little age difference but two years is nothing when you get to be my age." Ikari takes a sip of her tea clearing her throat to speak, she didn't want to marry Jukon the boy nearly lit her on fire.
"I'm sorry mother but, I get incredibly sea sick." She looks away from her mother not wanting to anger her. The woman chuckles, placing the cup down on its saucer.
"It's no problem dear, we'll decorate with ruby red and put you in an off white dress to hide your sickly complexion. It's not as if you'll have time to eat anyways.'' She reaches over and pinches Ikari's cheek, lightly smiling at her.
"We'll figure something out dear, you're so pretty you're sure to find a strong fire bender to marry. I just worry about Lai, she's so… spirited. I'm afraid she needs more guidance to be a proper Fire Lord's wife." Ikari's heart sank, she felt guilty once more. Her mother wanted what was best for all of them and how could she do that if she didn't even know the truth of where Lai even was?
"So you know about Lychee?" Ikari remembers the bird her sister covered for her and she wanted to do the same, her mother's smile drops slowly.
"That girl will surely get a lecture for that when she is home, believe me. Although she does have a good heart, I'm so proud of her already. I just can't imagine losing her so soon even to the prince." her mother chuckles wiping something from her eye, Ikari felt like her mother was trying to kill her without even knowing it. Her mouth goes dry as her brain moves quickly wondering what to do, where do her loyalties lie? In her home with her parents, or in a belief for a better future with her sister who is trying to create. She feels as if her body isn't real, she's trapped in an earthly vessel listening to her mother talk but she isn't herself.
"Mother?" She asks and the woman looks up at her stopping her ramblings about Lai, Ikari takes a deep breath trying to regain herself before doing what she believes she has to.