Zuko

I woke up early like always and quietly climbed out of bed to not disturb Sam. Although I always thought a herd of rhinos wouldn't wake her up. We weren't meeting with our councilmen today. We still had to review everything and right now, it was not taking precedence. I went to our office to look over some of the documents that Sam had on the trafficking. I didn't know how long I had been in the room when a knock came on the door.

"Come in." I called out. Geshna appeared in the doorway.

"You wanted to see me this morning, your highness?" she asked.

"Yes, please, have a seat." I said, gesturing to the chair that Sam usually sat in. She obliged. "I wanted to fill you in on everything going on since you will be taking Chang to and from school. We suspect her parents are involved in the trafficking."

"What?! Is there any proof against them?"

"Not yet aside from a witness. I got a hawk yesterday that my friends should be here tomorrow. I want to hear what they have to say before I move forward with them."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Keep an ear to the ground. If you hear anything, no matter how insignificant it seems, please let myself or Sam know right away."

"Of course, your majesty. What does Chang know?"

"Nothing. We told her that her parents asked for us to watch over her for a while. We can't exactly tell a six year old the truth."

"No, definitely not. Do we think that she is in any danger?"

"Not that we know of but just be vigilant. Who knows what these people will try."

"Will do, Fire Lord." Geshna looked out the window, "I think it's about time for me to take the girls to school."

"Yes, I suppose it is. Here, let me walk you to the entrance." I offered. We walked through the corridors until we arrived at the steps. Sam, Izumi and Chang were already there.

"Daddy! You're here!" Izumi exclaimed. She ran over to me and wrapped her arms around my leg. "Why didn't you bring me?" she asked, disappointed she missed our a ride on my shoulders. I stooped down to her.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I wasn't able to today." I offered.

"It's ok, Daddy." she said.

"Now go on, you don't want to be late." I said. I looked at Chang and she still looked lost. I walked over to her and knelt down. "Good morning, Chang. Did you sleep well?" She shrugged. I reached over and chucked her under her chin. "I know everything is scary and confusing right now, but I promise everything will be alright. Ok?" I asked to which she gave me a small nod. "Have a good day at school, ok? Sam and I will be here when you're done with school." I didn't want to say "home." It wasn't her home and I didn't want to confuse her.

"Ok…Zoku." she said. I chuckled.

"Zuko." I corrected. She looked at me, concerned she had offended me but then calmed down when she saw my relaxed expression. I stood up and the three of them walked to school.

"How was it getting her ready today?"

"A nightmare. She is really not doing well with this whole thing. We will need to figure out a way to ease her anxiety. I was thinking of maybe getting her a toy. What do you think?"

"I think that's a great idea. We can send someone to the market to fetch her something." I suggested.

"Actually, I wasn't thinking of sending anyone." Sam said.

"But, who will you take with you?" I asked. It wasn't customary for the Fire Lady, or any woman for that matter, to leave their home unattended in the Fire Nation. Most women were accompanied by their husbands. It was, however, acceptable for the Fire Lady to be escorted by a guard.

"Well, I was thinking that perhaps you would want to join me. We are kind of at a stand still with the trafficking until our friends arrive and the proposals we decided would wait. Join me, Fire Lord?" she asked. I didn't usually leave the palace for such mundane tasks but I thought it might be a nice change of pace.

"Of course. I think Jok should come with us. Just in case."

"If you think it best.. I also thought we might check on the shelter while we are out. I know it's a long walk but I think it would be nice, don't you?" It did sound appealing, so I agreed and she took my proffered arm.

Sam and I walked down the streets of the market near the palace. Everyone was surprised to see their Fire Lord and Lady. Sam didn't like the royal procession and she definitely hated the palanquin. Ever since we married, they have been collecting dust. We greeted our people and enjoyed the day. We went into a shop that advertised toys. We walked in and started to browse.

"Fire Lord and Lady, what an honor it is to have you in my shop! Please, is there anything I can help you find?"

"Not right now, sir. We are just looking. We will let you know if we need help." Sam said politely. He bowed and gave us space.

"Look at this, Zuko. A little stuffed Turtleduck. She really liked the turtleducks in the garden. I think this would be perfect for her."

"I agree, that would be perfect for her." I said. I relied on her for this kind of thing. I wasn't great at picking out gifts. "Should we get something for Izumi?"

"No, she has enough toys."

"She might get upset, Sam."

"Then she gets upset. Sometimes people will get things and she won't. She needs to learn that." Sam said. I didn't totally agree but I understood her logic.

"I just don't think it's fair to give Chang something and not Izumi."

"If you really want to get her something, Zuko, we can. But I don't think it's necessary. Besides, life isn't always fair," she said. I knew that tone. You can do what your want but if it goes south, you'll never hear the end of it.

"No, you're right. She doesn't need any more toys." I conceded. We went up to the merchant to purchase the item. Sam handed him the toy.

"Oh no, Fire Lady. I couldn't dream of charging you."

"Nonsense, we want to pay. This is your livelihood. Here, will this cover it?" Sam held out about 10 gold pieces. The toy was worth a silver, maybe two. She was always generous with the merchants when it came to money. She said she knew what it was like to be in their shoes and she wanted to help where she could. This was one of the many reasons she was such a wonderful Fire Lady. When I first brought her home, our people, although welcoming, did not trust her. Now, the people adored her and loved seeing and interacting with her. She didn't treat them like they were beneath her. She treated them as equals.

We finished at the store and headed down to the shelter. We walked in the door and Fu Sen greeted us.

"Your majesties. What can I do for you?"

"We just wanted to check on the girls. How are things?"

"Good. They are doing well. Many of them have jobs now and are finally learning to reintegrate into society. Almost all of them have decided they want to stay and are working on getting their citizenship here."

"Fu Sen, anyone who is showing interest in citizenship should be granted it without having to go through any of the red tape. It isn't their fault they were uprooted and we want to make the transition as smooth as possible. They will be given a citizenship right away." I said.

"Yes, Fire Lord." he said bowing. I looked down at Sam and she was smiling at me and I could see pride in her face. She knew I was taking a larger role in the care of these women. Ever since I saw it first hand, I knew I had to do more. I knew I couldn't save them all but I want to help who I can.

"Has there been any disturbances since we posted the guards?" Sam asked.

"I thought there would have been, but no. It kind of concerns me that something big is coming."

"Let's hope not. Keep your ear to the ground. If anything seems amiss, no matter how minor, please let us know immediately." I said. He bowed again and agreed. "Thank you, Fu Sen." I looked at the sky and realized Izumi and Chang would be returning from school soon. I couldn't believe we had been gone the whole day. I looked down at Sam, "I think we should get moving. The girls will be back from school soon." We said our goodbyes and went back to the palace.

Sam and I arrived at the palace with a few minutes to spare so we sat down on the steps and waited. Finally, we saw the girls with Geshna turning the corner. Izumi came rushing to us and threw herself into our embrace.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Izumi exclaimed, like she did every day.

"Hey Turtleduck! How was school?" I asked her. She looked back at Chang and then at us.

"Good." she said. Geshna and Chang arrived and the latter had her head hanging down low.

"Hello, Chang. How was school." I asked. She shrugged. I looked at my Sam.

"Izumi, let's take your and Chang's things to your rooms and wait for them in the Turtleduck Garden."

"Ok, Mommy!" Izumi replied. She was such an agreeable child, sometimes I didn't think it was even fair. I looked down at Chang and her eyes widened and watched them walk away. She wouldn't look at me. I pulled Geshna aside.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Chang didn't have a very good day today. One of the children was playing with a toy and Chang took it from him. When he asked for it back Chang pushed him down. She was sent to the corner by Sheeza." I looked over at Chang and she was shaking. Before I would get so angry with her when she would pick on Izumi. But now, knowing her family life, it almost made sense. Sam always told me to be more sensitive. 'You never know what's behind closed doors.' In the case of Chang, she was 100% correct.

"Thank you, Geshna." I said. I walked over to Chang and knelt down to her level. "Hey, kiddo." She still wouldn't look at me. She had tears streaming down her face. She was visibly terrified. I placed my hand on her shoulder and she flinched at my touch. "It's ok, hunny." She glanced up at me, surprised. I stood and extended my hand for her to take, "What do you say we have a talk?" She looked at my hand and then at me. I looked down at her, calmly waiting for her to take it. Ultimately, she knew she didn't have a choice and reluctantly took my hand and I led her inside the palace. As I held her hand, I could feel her trembling.

We went to a bench in front of one of the windows. I sat down and gestured her to come over. She stopped a few feet away, afraid to approach me. Her father would discipline her by beating her and her mother would, I assumed, stand back and watch. Geshna said she would show up with unexplained bruises. Sam and I had also deduced this and it became even more apparent in her demeanor over time. I gestured for her to come closer. She inched her way in front of me. Then I picked her up and placed her on my lap.

"So, what happened today?" I asked. She shrugged. I placed my finger under her chin and lifted her face to look at me. I wiped her tears away with my thumbs. "You can tell me. I promise, I won't get mad." She looked at my skeptically but I figured she knew she would have to spill the beans.

"I took a toy from Mayno and…I pushed him."

"I see, and why did you do that?" she shrugged. I laid my arms around her in an effort to comfort her. I knew it wouldn't be easy for her to open up to me so I thought I'd break the ice.

"You know, my dad used to hurt me, too." I said. She looked up at me. "It's true. That's how I got this." I said touching to my scar. Then I realized she already knew that after she said it to Izumi one of the times she was bullying her.

"Your daddy was mean, too." she said. It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes, he was. He liked to hurt me. He liked to hurt a lot of people. He was a cruel and evil man who only had room in his heart for himself. But you know what?" her eyes nothing but curiosity despite her fears, "it took a while but I realized: not everyone is like that." Her brow furrowed, obviously taking in what I said. "And neither am I."

"So, you…won't hit me?" she asked. I smiled a small smile at her.

"No, sweetheart. I won't. And neither will Sam. Ever. Ok?" I explained. She nodded.

"Ok."

"But no more taking toys from people or pushing them." I said lightly tapping my finger on her belly in emphasis. "You don't like it when other people do it to you, right?"

"No." she answered in a small voice.

"So if you don't like it, then you shouldn't do it to others. Right?"

"Yeah." she said.

"Good girl." I said picking her up. I placed her on my feet and stood myself.

"Now, what do you say we find Sam and Izumi?" I asked, holding out my hand again. She smiled, took it and we walked out to the Turtleduck Garden. Her trembling had ceased.

We walked out to the Garden where Sam and Izumi were. I smiled at Sam signaling that my talk with Chang was successful. We walked over and sat down by the pond. Chang went right over to the turtleducks. She laid down on her belly and just watched them. Sam handed me a piece of bread and I handed it to her. She took it happily and fed the critters. I looked at Sam and then at the bag the toy was in.

"Zoom, did you want give it to her now?" Sam asked. Izumi lit up and jumped to her feet. Sam handed the bag to her.

"Chang! This is for you." she said, holding the bag out to her. Chang was surprised at the unexpected gift. She looked at me. I smiled and nodded at her encouraging her to open it. She looked in the bag and, for the first time since I met her, I saw her genuinely smile.

"A turtleduck!" she gasped. "I love it!" She hugged the toy tightly to her chest. I looked over at Sam and she sat smiling, pleased she liked the toy. I tapped Chang's shoulder with one finger.

"What do you say, Chang?" I asked, gesturing to my daughter. She smiled again and looked over at Izumi.

"Thank you, Izumi!" I could always rely on Sam to make things work. Of course, having Izumi give the toy to Chang would quell any jealousy she may have of not getting a toy too. Izumi loved giving gifts and making people smile. Sometimes I needed to remind myself that Sam always knew what to do.

"Alright, you two, go on and play." I said. They both got up and ran off into the garden, Chang clutching her new toy.