Zuko
Everyone went to greet Sokka and Toph. I went to the bedrooms to fetch Sam. Asleep or not she will want to be there. I came to Chang's room and didn't bother knocking. They were still sound asleep. I hated waking her because it would wake the girls. I gently shook Sam's shoulder. She stirred and looked up at me through blurry eyes.
"Zuko?" she mumbled.
"Yes, my love. Toph and Sokka have returned. I thought you would want to come."
"Yes, I do." she said then looked down at the girls sleeping. "But…I don't want to wake them. They're sound asleep."
"I think it would do them good to wake. You guys have been sleeping for hours."
"Really? It doesn't feel that way."
"Trust me, you have." I said. I looked down at my daughter and stroked her face and hair. She slowly stirred and looked at me.
"Hey, Izumi. Your mommy needs to get up. Come on, now." I said, patting her bottom. She got up and stretched her arms. Sam stroked Chang's face and she also roused.
"Time to wake up, sleepyhead." she said to Chang. Chang smiled at her and also stretched.
"Can we go out to the Turtleduck Garden?" Izumi asked.
"No hunny. Maybe later. Right now, your mother and I have work to do. You can stay in here for now. If Chang is up to playing you both may do that but Izumi don't pester her. If she isn't feeling well, don't push her."
"I won't, Daddy!" she said. I stroked her cheek again and Sam and I walked out. We quickly found Toph and Sokka.
"Guys, you won't believe the success we had!" Sokka said. He held up their prize. I was amazed at how well it was drawn and Sam was surprised.
"What in God's name?!" she asked.
"What? This is a great drawing! I've never seen anything like it!" I said surprised. It was so crisp and clear. I saw no brush strokes. What was strange was the color. It was blacks and greys and whites. Such a strange way to paint someone.
"It's because it's not a drawing. It's a photograph." Sam said bringing me back to reality.
"It's a what?"
"You point what's called a camera at someone and push a button and then it snaps a photo. This is better than I could have imagined! I had no idea this kind of technology was in the bending nations!"
"It's very new and it's only in Republic City. They've been using cameras for about a year now. Personally, I don't get what all the fuss is about." Toph said. It took me a second to realize what she meant but then I chuckled.
"I think this will be perfect to present to the girls. See if they can positively ID him. We have had some headway though on the case since you two left though. I think we should fill you in." I said referring to the interrogations. "Let's go to our meeting room."
We arrived in the room and everyone took their seats. I sat at the head of the table and Sam sat at my right. She reached her hand over to me and I instinctively took it. I always felt better when I was in physical contact with her.
We sat in the room for the better part of an hour bringing each other up to speed. There wasn't much for them to report to us apart from this "photograph" that they had procured. We also filled them in on what Shira had told us including her ID'ing Xinche. "We will need more than just her though. We will need victims to come forward. I'm praying to Agni that they will." I said. I was hoping since we could now guarantee their anonymity they would be more willing. We finished our meeting and adjourned for the day. Soon it would be supper time.
Sam and I left the room and we headed back to check on the girls. We approached Chang's door, knocked and went inside. The girls were sitting on Chang's bed playing with some toys. Chang looked up concerned.
"Where is Gizo?" she asked. Good question. I thought. I popped my head out of the bedroom and caught Belna who usually worked in this area of the palace.
"Belna, have you seen Chang's toy?"
"Yes, it had to be washed again. I will go find it, your majesty." she said and scurried off.
"Someone is going to bring him to you, ok?" I said. "But Sam and I thought it would be nice for the two of you to have some time in the garden." I said. I looked at Chang, "That is, if you're up to it."
"Yeah! Let's go!" they both shouted and got up off the bed. Sam and I laughed at their enthusiasm. They ran out the door and in the direction of the garden.
"No running in the palace!" Sam called after them, but it was futile. The girls didn't hear her. "Girls!" she shouted. Then they slowed down to a very fast speed walk.
"Let them go, hunny. They're ok. They have so much energy pent up inside them it's a wonder that bedroom is still in one piece." Taking the girls outside would also give the servants a chance to change the bedding.
We arrived at the garden and the girls were already hard at play. Sam and I went to the pool and sat down at the edge. I handed Sam some bread and we both fed the turtleducks. After we fed them (we kept a little bit of bread for the kids when they decided to come over), I stood up and then helped Sam to her feet. We both sat on the bench. She slid over into my side and I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. She instinctively laid her head down on my shoulder.
"These are two great kids, you know?" Sam observed.
"They certainly are." I said, then a thought occurred to me, "How about Azula though?"
"I know right! She is so concerned about Chang, it surprises me. She even wants to spend time with her when she is off duty. Speaking of which, she should be done soon." I said looking at the sky.
"Yes, she should be. Perhaps we should let her know where we are."
"She'll figure it out. Stop worrying." I said, kissing her forehead. We sat and watched the children for a while until we did finally see Azula entering the garden. She walked over to us, a concerned look on her face.
"Should Chang be out here right now?"
"We know she is still weak but fresh air will do her some good. Also getting out some of her energy. She will go stir crazy in there and then, when children get bored, is when they start misbehaving. We want to prevent that as much as possible." Sam explained.
Azula sat down next to the pond. I had noticed that the critters aren't as scared of her anymore. She really has changed. And for the better. Chang looked over and saw Azula. She raised her hand over to Chang who came jogging over.
"Azula!" she said, excitedly. "When did you get here?!"
"Just a moment ago. How are you feeling?"
"Good. I'm starting to feel a little bit tired though." she said. I could understand that. This was the first time she's really been up since she was poisoned.
"Do you want to go back to bed, sweetie?"
"Yeah, I think so." she said, snuggling into Azula. I liked this. Chang needed Azula and Azula needed Chang. This new found...whatever it was...was a good one. When Izumi saw her aunt, she also came running over.
"Aunt Azula!" Izumi said, all but tackling Azula.
"Hey squirt! I know you're felling well." she said.
"Yeah! We've been playing too!" she said.
"Yes, I see that, but I think it's time for Chang to get some rest now. We don't want her overdoing it."
"Aww! Come on, Aunt Azula! We just got out here."
"Actually, you two have been out here over an hour. But I also don't think you should argue with your aunt, do you?" Sam asked.
"No, Mommy." Izumi said. "Do you want to play in da bedroom?!"
"Izumi, remember how we talked about not pushing Chang?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"Then I think you need to relax a bit. She needs to regain her strength. And that will take time. Besides, I don't know of any other Fire Nation princess who needs to get a shoulder ride." I said. Izumi got so excited, she jumped up and down and clapped her hands together. I held my hands down to her and lifted her onto my shoulders. And in typical Izumi form, she played with my topknot and Fire Lord hairpiece. On the way, Izumi had managed to dislodge my topknot (again) and my hair fell down over my shoulders. Since it was almost supper, we took Izumi to the dining hall where everyone was waiting to eat. Thankfully, the fear of our food had waned significantly. We did notice that Azula and Chang were missing.
"Where are they at?" Katara asked.
"Chang isn't feeling well and Azula is staying with her."
"That is really cool that she is kind of filling the maternal role for that little girl. She's been through so much."
"Yes, I think they help each other. Azula needs her too."
"Do you guys know what's going to happen to Chang if her parents are put away?" Aang asked.
"We aren't sure. As far as we know she doesn't have any other family. We asked her and she didn't indicate she has any. I guess we would have to ask her parents or perhaps check the citizen records to see if there are any. But I really don't think there are any relatives."
"So, will she stay here at the palace indefinitely then?" Katara asked.
"No, she won't. Sam and I already discussed that. We will have to find her a home for her to go to. We haven't gotten that far yet. We need to get the trafficking under control first." I said.
"Yeah, you said it. So when are we going to have the girls come to ID these people?" Toph asked.
"Our plan is to have them brought here tomorrow. We are going to line up Buzi with several other random men to see if she picks him out. And we will do the same with Shira only with women, of course. We will also show them the photograph of Xinche to see if they can ID him. That reminds me, Sam, I think it would be prudent to have a scribe in the secret room to document what is being said."
"Yes, I agree. I think that would be prudent." she said. "After we have them ID Buzi and Shira, then we will decide what happens to Chang. Even if they are released, Zuko and I are inclined to not send Chang back to them. We don't feel that we can do it and still be able to sleep at night. Where I come from you can't just take children away from their parents like this. I'm grateful we can in the bending nations."
"What happens when there is abuse then?!" Aang asked disgusted.
"Well, the child remains with the parents until something terrible happens. Usually the child is severely hurt or worse. But the legal system there is so much different. Even if it's proven that the parents are being abusive, it's still hard to get them away from them even then. And if there is no living family other than the parents then it's even harder. Oftentimes the child has irreparable damage or they are actually…they die." Sam amended.
"That's terrible."
"Yes, it is. But the laws we have in the Fire Nation are so much better than the laws in Las Estrellas. Here, as soon as there is suspected abuse, the child is removed from the home and everything is investigated. Only we didn't really need to evaluate anything in Chang's situation. There was obvious abuse going on and she had the bruising to prove it."
"And many of those changes were at the behest of my wife." Zuko added causing me to blush.
"So what is the plan for tomorrow?"
"Sam and I are going to got to the shelter and bring back anyone who is willing to talk."
