It was a gorgeous summer day, and two couples sat under a small but grand pavilion within a serenity garden on the Fire Nation Royal Palace grounds. One couple was Azulon and his wife Ilah, and the other was their eldest son Iroh and his wife Kimana. This portion of the royal gardens held extraordinary significance to Azulon as it was his mother Aguya's contribution to the garden. The Fire Lady may have fewer duties than her husband, but the one job that was solely hers was contributing to the royal gardens.
Azulon's mother, Aguya, had once been a humble servant. As Fire Lady, she constructed a serenity garden for all the palace servants. She had passed before her son reached his thirteenth birthday. Despite that, and being in his 90s, Azulon remembered every last detail of his mother: her beautiful, soothing voice, shining golden eyes, and warm, loving presence.
He glanced at his wife, Ilah, gabbing happily with their daughter-in-law, Kimana, the current Fire Lady. Azulon and his wife had stepped down after their grandson Lu Ten married Ursa, the granddaughter of Avatar Roku. They're ready to be grandparents or great-grandparents, as it was. They cherished Ursa and Lu Ten's son Zuko and were already well under the spell of their second great-grandchild, Kiyi, who was still a baby.
Their only granddaughter, Azula, didn't have a good relationship with them since she and her parents were such terrors. This was why Azulon had requested his firstborn son and wife to join them in this part of the gardens normally closed off even to the royal family.
"Father, I must know. Why did you bring me here? You never permitted me here, even as a child. So why bring me here now?" Iroh questioned his father kindly.
Azulon took a deep breath and explained slowly. "As you are well aware, my son, my father, Fire Lord Sozin, had embarked on a war which he originally intended to conquer the world."
"Yes, I know this, as does everyone else. Not long after Sozin's Comet, the war unexpectedly ceased. Grandfather called a ceasefire, confessed his sins publicly, and spent the remainder of his life in prison to pay for his crimes. You were still too young to take the throne then, but he'd written instructions on hopefully rebuilding the world he sought to eradicate," Iroh answered readily.
"It was extraordinarily fortunate indeed that some of the Air Nomads lived through what was presumed to be genocide. Even though no one has witnessed the Avatar since Avatar Roku died, the Fire Sages confirmed he hadn't been reborn into the Water Tribe yet," Kimana added thoughtfully. They all paused momentarily to be grateful for THAT miracle, at least.
"Yes, that mystery has yet to be cracked. However, have you ever wondered why the war ended so quickly?" Azulon challenged them.
For nearly a century, the world had been haunted by a single question: Why did Sozin's war, a lifelong obsession for the Fire Lord, abruptly halt? The answer remained elusive, and the events leading to the ceasefire were shrouded in mystery. Again, thank Alanna that some of the Air Nomads and dragons had been spared, and they could rebuild the lives of those lost. Thank Alanna for the peace talks being successful, and thank Alanna for so much more. But again, no one knew WHY it happened.
Ultimately, Azulon revealed the family secret, "Father almost took the secret to his grave. It wasn't until the day of his death that he summoned me and divulged the truth about why he repented and tried to make amends for his sins."
"What did he tell you, Father?" Iroh asked, ever so curious. Indeed, even Kimana waited with bated breath for her father-in-law's answer.
"He told me my mother's spirit returned to the land of the living just for one evening. She told him the only way he'd see her in the afterlife was if he did as she said to make amends."
"Wow!" everyone else gasped. They'd all heard ghost stories before but took them with a grain of salt. Azulon wasn't finished. He explained that his mother had left a message for him with his father, who told him that she would always love him and those who followed him. "I brought you here because this is my mother's serenity garden, and this is the anniversary of when she helped save the world even from beyond the grave."
"I assume this is a lesson to not give into sinful temptations and knowing one's actions have a lasting impact?" Iroh guessed, to which his father nodded.
"I only wish Ozai understood that. I know something is not right with his mind or his family. His abusive treatment of his wife, Shula, has warped her mind so severely. Moreover, that daughter he's so proud of has undoubtedly inherited the seed of evil my father forcefully crushed himself after my mother's ghostly visit."
Before anyone could say anything, a servant girl appeared and approached them. "Excuse me, my Lords and Ladies. But Princess Ursa and her husband have requested your presence. Something amiss with the Esteemed Prince Zuko," she spoke beautifully. She bowed very low to show her leaders the respect they deserved.
Her unforeseen words immediately made everyone's face go paler then the snow. Jumping up, they rushed back into the palace to the young prince's chamber. He looked extremely unwell like he was nearing death! His skin was sickly pale, his breathing shallow, and he was burning with fever! Ursa stood up quickly; her face was tear-stained.
"I've not a clue what is wrong with my son! Not even our physicians or healers know what is wrong with him! I cannot even guess, and my mother was a master herbalist! Yet even I've never seen someone sick like this!" she cried. Lu Ten could not comfort her because he was holding their infant daughter, Kiyi, protectively. Their daughter was also crying, and he couldn't console his wife and daughter simultaneously!
Azulon and Iroh talked privately with the physicians and healers, but they were stumped about what was wrong with the young prince. Everyone could agree it had to be something other than a common illness. Despite his retirement, Azulon's protective instincts surged to the forefront. He demanded a thorough search of every medical history book in the palace, determined to find a clue that could save his great-grandson. Hours were spent by candlelight. Every medical textbook and history scroll scrutinized, the situation's urgency driving their relentless search for a cure.
Unexpectedly, the same servant girl who had initially fetched the royal family reappeared. "Excuse me?" she spoke softly to get their attention. The physicians and healers looked up. The young maiden kept her head down in respect so no one could tell what she looked like.
"Yes, can we help you with something?" a physician asked kindly. The rule of thumb in the palace was always to treat the servants kindly again because Azulon's mother was one before becoming Fire Lady.
"I know what is wrong with Esteemed Prince Zuko. He's been poisoned by one of the toxins from the Era of the Red Death," the beautiful servant spoke calmly.
"What!" the physician who had addressed the chambermaid screamed. His colleague also looked stumped."How do you know that? The Era of Red Death was over a century ago! Fire Lord Sozin's orders burned all knowledge regarding the infamous Sumiko and her poisons!"
"I'm telling you, its one of her poisons! You've only a short window to give the antidote to the prince, or he'll die! Thus ushering in a new Era of the Red Death! Please, this is the antidote to the poison!" The nameless maiden gave them a vial filled with a mysterious sparkling liquid.
Everyone would assume this servant was mad or not to take her seriously. Yet some instinct told the healers she was right, and they nodded. As they raced to the prince's room, she shouted after them to check the candles. Three days later, all was revealed. Indeed, Prince Zuko had been poisoned by someone utilizing the candles in his room to poison him gradually. The candles, when lit, sent out the poison that mixed with another toxin discovered within the boy's silk bedsheets.
It wasn't surprising to find out Ozai and his family had been behind it. Somehow, Ozai had discovered locked in a trunk one of the few pages that remained of Mistress Sumiko's toxins and had exploited them. Because Ozai's entire family was involved, they were shipped off to Sado Island in the Boiling Sea, where only the most sinister criminals of the Fire Nation were banished. Zuko, of course, wanted to thank the servant girl who saved him. But for some odd reason, no one could locate her.
They looked everywhere, but no one remembered the servant girl who had spoken to them. Zuko had only seen her when she had come to check on him in the middle of the night to see if the antidote had worked. And even though he'd been half-asleep and still ill, he knew he'd never forget what she looked like. Exactly a week later, Zuko saw her again!
He chased her, trying to get her to stop so he could thank her, but she somehow vanished into a room he'd never been in before. This was the first time anyone had been in this part of the palace in over a century. And that was for a good reason. This was where Fire Lord Sozin's matrimonial chambers were located! In his living will, he asked that the room be locked forever. So how had this servant girl been able to unlock the door when the key had been burned along with Sozin?
"Zuko! Zuko!" Azulon called out, clearly looking for him. Everyone was still anxious about the eleven-year-old after his near brush with death, so naturally, everyone had been acting a bit overprotective.
"I'm in here, Grandfather!" called Zuko, who was too stunned to move. He didn't think he could move if he tried. It felt like some otherworldly force made sure he stayed where he was.
"What in the name of Agni? Zuko, what are you doing here? How did you even get in here?" Azulon asked. He couldn't even understand how his parent's private chambers could open again! He'd been the last one in here when he fulfilled his father's last wishes! So how was it Zuko was in here when he'd again melted the key to the lock? Being brought back to reality, he heard his great-grandson answer.
"The woman in the painting! She led me here! She was the one who saved my life!" he pointed to the wedding portrait of Fire Lord Sozin and Fire Lady AGUYA.
"Mother?" whispered Azulon so softly that only those with exceptionally good hearing could've picked it up. It turned out that Zuko indeed had quite good hearing, as evidenced by what he said next.
"Mother? Grandfather, why do you look like you've seen a ghost?" Zuko asked, confused.
The elderly man looked between the portrait and his great-grandson and said, "Because my mother's ghost just saved your life, my child." Both looked shocked beyond belief as they gazed at the portrait of the captivating woman whose golden eyes still shined brightly with love.