Disclaimer: still broke still don't own it
The White Lotus opens wide to those who know its secrets.
"What about…to those who wish to learn its secrets?" Ursa asked carefully.
One bulging green eye winked at her. "Well, everyone starts somewhere. The question is, why do you wish to learn?"
"Why?" she echoed.
"Indeed. Why are you here?"
"I'm here because…" Because I got your notes and I was curious? Because my mother told me it was important? Because I don't know enough about the history between Fire Lord and Avatar that apparently drove her into hiding? "I'm here for my family," she decided. "You know them, don't you?"
"I know of them," he clarified. "Your mother left us before you were born, but six months ago, she sent one last message saying her baby girl needed us. Used every favor she had left from her daddy to do it."
"Why did she leave?"
"She didn't want to risk you."
A lot of good that had done. "So, it's dangerous."
"Knowledge is a dangerous thing, in times like these. You've been married for what, nine months? How much have you learned that you didn't know before, and why do you think you didn't know it?" The man shook his head. "Your father-in-law thrives on controlling information, shaping the truth into what he wills it to be. Whereas we simply seek the truth as it is. That's what makes us dangerous, in the eyes of people like him."
"How does he shape the truth?"
"Well, why does the Fire Nation wage war against the world?"
"To share our greatness," she replied, almost reflexively.
"And…what greatness is that exactly?" He gestured around them. "You think what you've seen of the capital tonight is so great it's worth sharing?"
Ursa frowned. "We have greater bending, greater infrastructure, greater ambitions and leadership. Sure, we have some problems, but everywhere does. It must be worse in the other nations."
"How do you know? Have you seen the other nations?"
"Well…no. But I know others who have."
"And did they tell you it was worse?"
She thought back, considering what Iroh had told her of his trip to the Earth Kingdom. Overall, he'd mainly had good things to say about Omashu: incredible architecture, an unrivaled delivery system, bustling markets, delicious food…there hadn't been much talk of what he thought the Fire Nation could improve there. But, that was only one city of dozens in the country, wasn't it? The others likely needed firebending support.
"What you're saying is treason," she deflected. "It's dishonorable."
"So much talk about honor in this country." His eyes rolled. "I'm aware of the implications of my speech. Why do you think I'm telling you it's dangerous?"
"What are you, rebellion? Resistance?"
"Dear me, not in the way you think. The group is not particularly action-oriented these days; that would be too practical a use of our time."
"If my mother wanted to protect me from this, why did she send you to me now?"
"I don't know your mother." He cracked his knuckles. "What do you think?"
Her mother had raised her in a life of blissful ignorance, keeping her sheltered from the war, the capital, and Avatar Roku. All of that protection was gone now, and her entire life had been rearranged to fit around those very things: Avatar Roku's blood that ran in her veins, the capital that was now her home, the war that was now her husband and future children's to wage. Ignorance could no longer keep her safe. But the "truth" that this man was promising didn't seem like it would either.
"I think there's a lot she never taught me because she thought she'd have time, so she wants you to teach me instead."
"Now, there's a theory." His eyes glinted. "Clever girl. I like that. The others said I hadn't given you enough to figure out your way here, and I said if she needs to be handheld through just this, she won't make a very good initiate, will she?" He chortled as if at his own joke that Ursa didn't understand.
"So, I'll be an initiate?"
"That you will. Assuming, of course, you wish to be."
Ursa stroked Xiliu's fur as she debated. "You say your mission is searching for the truth, on an intellectual level."
"Some would toss in history, beauty, philosophy, things like that into the mix. But truth and knowledge are at the core. Even if it's truth you or your in-laws might not like."
"My family was part of this?"
"Yes indeedy. Your grandpa was sort of an honorary member, him being a bigshot and all. Your mother worked her way up to a good rank. She might've run this whole operation if her heart was in it. Of course, some would say that's more of a curse than anything."
There was too much to consider, really: the Avatar's role in all this, her future children, how sustainable it was to hide this from Iroh. But, honestly, she'd decided her answer well before tonight. If her encounters with older Iroh were to be believed, some version of her had already made this choice and still sustained her marriage through it all.
"I'd like to join," she said, holding Xiliu's scruff as an anchor through the dangerous declaration.
"Good, good. And will the cat be joining as well?"
Ursa giggled. "If you'll have him, sure. I think he already knows plenty."
"They always do." The man held his veiny hand out to Xiliu, smiling as he received a haughty sniff of approval. "Now, to kick off your initiation, repeat after me, and make sure you really mean it! 'The quest for truth above all else.'"
"The quest for truth above all else," she echoed.
"Brothers and sisters in bloom I honor."
Ursa repeated three more lines in similar fashion, filled with promises of transcending borders and manmade divides to come together in intellectual harmony.
"Congratulations, clever girl. You're officially an initiate." He leaned in. "I must impress upon you to leave that young dragon of yours out of this, now that you've taken your oath."
"I understand."
"Good. Memorize these new codes: I see you favor the white lotus. Not many still respect the purity of flora. Those who do can find the delicious buried roots. Got it?"
She nodded obediently.
"Very well. Happy Eve to you both then. Try to enjoy the rest of it."
Was she being dismissed? "You haven't told me your name, or what happens next."
"Don't fret over seeing me again. Someone else will nurture your growth. I was merely the only one who was willing to risk sowing a seed." He winked. "You'll know my name and what happens next soon enough. Just remember that outside official lotus business, we're not meant to know each other. Nothing personal."
What strict rules the group had. "I understand. Thank you, then. It was nice to meet you."
"You as well, and your handsome feline friend. Keep him close."
"He won't let me do otherwise," she smiled. Xiliu purred in agreement.
Ursa was extraordinarily tired when Iroh went to wake her before dawn; she swatted him away with a groan and only reluctantly opened her eyes when he held the promised chili oil eggs-in-a-basket by her nose. "For me?"
"Who else?" he replied. She lit up.
Her mood improved when he lay down and cuddled her while she ate, especially when he pressed kisses to the ticklish side of her neck and made her giggle. "Better?" he asked.
"A little."
Xiliu stretched out on the mattress, looking miffed that Iroh hadn't brought breakfast for him as well. Ursa tossed him a crumb before shooing both of them away so she could get ready.
The sun was only moments from the horizon when she arrived at the square, where the Fire Lord was already preparing to address the festive capital crowds with Iroh and Ozai flanking him.
"Could she be any later?" Ozai muttered as he rubbed his eyes, clearly not enjoying the early party either.
"Hush up, Ozai. Women work wonders with a little extra time." Iroh fully meant it as Ursa came to stand at his left, looking radiant in her coral pink ao dai. Her hair, silky smooth and braided into a half-up topknot, smelled of her chrysanthemums. One of the pink flowers was tucked behind her ear.
"Am I actually late?" she whispered nervously. "I came as quickly as-"
"You're fine," he assured, taking her hand in his. "Father hasn't even started his speech yet."
On cue, the Fire Lord lifted his arms, signaling the crowd to quiet down so he could address them. "Citizens of the Fire Nation," his voice boomed, "children of the superior element, we prepare for the sun to rise on another glorious year!"
Iroh stood tall as his father continued speaking, but half his mind was on his wife. He ran his thumb across the back of her hand, appreciating the little squeeze she gave in return. Ursa was rarely awake at dawn, and he quite liked the way she looked with the pink of the glowing sunrise dusting her skin.
"You're so beautiful," he said softly.
"Pay attention," she responded, a smile playing on her lips.
"...may this, our seventieth year of bringing enlightenment to the world, be a landmark unlike any that have come before. As the sun rises, I wish you all a very Happy New Year."
On cue, the fireworks show went off from the harbor, sending the crowd into cheers and echoes of "Happy New Year!" around the city. Iroh eagerly pulled his wife into his arms for their own celebration, her surprised laugh like music to his ears.
"Happy New Year, dearest," he murmured, allowing himself to simply melt when she whispered it back and kissed him. The slight waxiness of her lip color made him belatedly realize he would have the stain of her affection on him when he pulled away. Worth it. If this wasn't an official royal appearance, he would have gladly parted her lips and tasted more of her, but given their audience, he forced himself to keep it chaste and stop after a few seconds.
"Oops," she giggled when she saw the stain, dabbing at his lips. "Sorry."
"It's fine." He reached up to grab her wrist, pressing simple kisses to each of her fingers, then the palm of her hand. Entranced as he was by her cheeks turning rosier, he didn't notice that the commotion of the crowd had taken a bad turn until it was almost too late.
It was the familiar rumble of earthbending that caught his attention, only a moment before his father shot a bolt of lightning into the air and intercepted a boulder that had been heading straight for the royal family. Screams broke out around them, but Ursa just froze and clung to him. Her hands were trembling. Unfortunately, there was no time to comfort her.
"Ozai!" Iroh called, reluctantly removing himself from the embrace. "Guard her with your life, you understand?"
That was all he could say, because Father was bent over with the strain of generating such a fast and powerful bolt of lightning at his age, and there were more earthen missiles coming. An earthbending invasion of the capital on the New Year…Iroh had never seen such a reckless plan, let alone how dishonorable it was to attack on a holy day.
"Evacuate the square!" he commanded the guards, striking two more rocks from the air. His father took the third. "Get my family inside! Father, let me handle the ground combat. You retreat."
Father just groaned something about leading the charge, which was undercut by the fact that he was on his knees.
"Dad," Iroh pleaded, "this is the whole point of my training, isn't it? Fall back and coordinate a greater defense from behind the palace walls."
"Fine." He let Iroh help him up. "Fine, I'll go-"
Then, the most horrible sound in the world split the air: Ursa's scream.
Iroh whipped around just in time to see her disappear into a pool of quicksand just past the palace gates, Ozai trapped in his own pool and unable to do anything but uselessly claw at the ground where she'd just been.
No. Despite Iroh's better instincts, time slowed around him as his mind stuttered over what had just happened. Ursa was gone, Ursa had vanished into the ground like it was water, and he'd been mere yards from her and hadn't been able to save her-
"Iroh." Father's voice was unnaturally steady, like the world hadn't been turned on its head. "The attack has stopped. Capturing her must have been the goal."
Dazed, Iroh registered that his father was right. There were no more boulders raining from the sky. The aim of the attack, at least for now, had been achieved.
"Whoever did this must be nearby," Father continued, laying a hand on Iroh's shoulder. "I've only seen true masters able to exert such control over the earth, and even they couldn't do it from a great distance. Soldiers are already putting down a perimeter."
"And a perimeter is so useful for apprehending a master who knows how to burrow through the earth."
The Fire Lord's hand tightened ever so slightly, a signal for Iroh to watch his tongue. "Listen to me. They could have struck down Ozai or even you or I with an attack like that, but they only took Ursa. Think about it. Why was that the strategy?"
Why did he have to stand around and work through this thought exercise when Ursa was in trouble? Father seemed to think she'd been taken, not left to suffocate in the ground, so he should be out there looking for her; how could he have lost her for the second time in less than a year of marriage?
With a sigh, Father answered his own question. "She's a pawn, son. A hostage, a ransom, whatever you want to call it. They couldn't afford to take one of us who'd burn them to crisps, so they took her, and they figure they can bring us to a negotiation instead of an all-out battle as long as they have her. Because they know they'll lose in a fair fight." His upper lip curled. "Dishonorable."
Dishonorable, dishonorable. The word rang in Iroh's ears. "So what do we do?"
"We wait, and we stay on guard. The rest of the plot will unfold soon enough."
"But-"
"Iroh, we will get your wife back. I won't let them keep a Princess of the Fire Nation, and they will know our wrath for what they've done to her. But don't lose your head now. It's more crucial than ever that we play our tiles wisely."
Contrary to the advice, smoke involuntarily puffed out of Iroh's nostrils.
"I see you're too riled to hear me," Father shook his head. "I will handle the hostage situation, then. You go work out your stress by coming up with a retaliation plan to present to the war council."
Iroh wanted to protest, but the Fire Lord had a certain tone that wasn't to be argued. Besides, his heart was still beating too fast and his blood roaring too loudly in his ears for him to think of anything but Ursa and revenge.
"I'm sorry," Ozai stammered, tagging at Iroh's heels as he stalked into the palace. "I- I'm so sorry, Brother, I- I didn't know they could do that- is there anything- can I help?"
You can help by locking yourself in the training room and not emerging until you're a competent prince- "No one expected that to happen," he forced himself to say, a little voice that sounded too much like Ursa reminding him to be nice. "It's not as if you could have yanked her out of the ground once the quicksand began. Someone very skilled pulled off that attack."
"You think so?"
"Yeah." Glancing over, he saw that Ozai looked truly shaken. Dirt and mud coated his legs from the knee-down, and his fingernails were broken from where he'd tried to dig Ursa out of the trap. Some of Iroh's worry shifted. "Get yourself to a physician and a bath. Father said he's going to see about getting Ursa back himself and asked me to work on a retaliation plan. You can help me with that when you're fixed up if you want."
"Okay. I'll help." Ozai folded his arms. 'Do you think- is she gonna be okay?"
Were Iroh's ears deceiving him, or was that a speck of genuine concern for another human being in his little brother's voice? "These earthbenders have brought themselves enough trouble for themselves by taking her. Hurting her would invite a terrible battle for the culprits, whatever Earth province they're from. I can only assume they're already doing poorly in the war if they're willing to risk this."
"So…they might hurt her?"
"Spirits, Ozai, what makes you think I want to talk about this?"
"S-sorry." With that, the younger prince scurried off, looking for all the world like he'd be well-suited with a tail between his legs. Iroh rubbed his temples, then made for the library. Master Qin was always a steady brainstorm partner for times like this, even if his interests tended more towards academia than combat.
"Prince Iroh," Qin bowed. "How may I assist you?" He must have heard about the kidnapping, but his demeanor remained unchanged; that was why Iroh liked coming here.
"A large map of the Earth Kingdom, Master, and a reason why it's not prudent for me to simply burn it to the ground."
"Recall that there are thousands of civilians across the ocean who had nothing to do with this plot against your wife, sire. If you must nurse your rage, focus it on those who are guilty by action, not association."
Good words as always. Iroh slumped into a chair, remembering a promise he'd made to Ursa during the Autumn Festival that he didn't want to be fueled by rage anymore, and tried to take Qin's advice to heart as the librarian brought him a map. It worked for about an hour, until a messenger appeared at the library's door. The scroll he handed to Iroh reignited his anger all over again: it listed an address, and presumptuously instructed him to come alone and unarmed.
"Who sent this?" Iroh demanded, the poor messenger shrinking beneath his ire.
"It arrived by an unmarked hawk, Your Highness."
"Thank you, young fellow. You're dismissed," Qin quickly sent the boy away before Iroh could snap at him further.
"It's odd, don't you think?" Instinctively, Iroh sought out his old teacher's advice, showing him the note. "No demands except that I go."
"Indeed."
"Do you think they mean to capture me? Assassinate me?"
"They would need at least ten men to accomplish such a thing, even with you unarmed."
"Or they just need one man with a knife at Ursa's throat."
Qin said nothing to that, merely inclining his head.
"Master, what do you think I should do?"
"Is anything I say going to change your mind right now, my prince?"
No, Iroh decided. It wasn't. He had to go, for Ursa's sake, even if it was a foolish choice.
"That's what I thought," Qin said when Iroh was silent. "Shall I notify your father?"
"If I don't return by sundown." Father would definitely try to handle the matter himself, and Iroh couldn't risk infuriating the kidnappers further by disobeying their instructions.
"Very well. I hope your venture is fruitful."
Iroh did too. He wasn't sure what he would do if this failed to get Ursa back.
Walking through the capital showed just how shaken the people were by the attack. The square that should have been filled with music and celebration was deserted, people huddling inside their homes as soldiers patrolled the streets. Iroh strode past the Hari Bulkan perimeter guard with a nod and a brief reminder to not let anyone in or out until ordered otherwise. The address on the note was in Harbor City, where it was easier to get away with shady activities so long as one did them quietly. Rationally, he knew it wasn't smart to be wandering down there to meet a kidnapper alone. But it was hard to care about rationality when he thought about the last time Ursa had been taken from him like this.
If she's burned again…
No, she'd been captured by earthbenders.
So she could be crushed instead.
Shut up, he told his mind. Shut up and focus. They'd want something from him, something no doubt related to the war. Iroh was prepared to give pretty much anything to assure his love's safety, but there was only so much he was really authorized to do as crown prince. Perhaps that was a good thing: he could get Ursa back with false promises, and then his Father could overrule him and ensure they lost no real ground in the war. Of course, it could be that the kidnappers had already thought of that and simply wanted to kill him. But that was a foolish plan, wasn't it? Even if they killed him, Father would be fine, and Ozai would just be heir instead. The more he puzzled over it, the more he couldn't understand the kidnapper's demand.
That didn't mean he was going to turn back, though. He pulled his cloak over his head and disappeared into the side streets of the city, counting the turns and houses to find his destination. He didn't think he'd been here before; it was an odd choice by the kidnappers, considering that this seemed to be a perfectly ordinary - if slightly rundown - neighborhood. They were prioritizing discretion, then, and likely looking to avoid a fight like Father had said. Well, they could dodge a fight today all they wanted. Once Ursa was safe, the Earth Kingdom would face retribution for what they'd done.
Finally, he found the house from the note. It appeared practically abandoned, with the doors padlocked from the outside and everything. This was the meeting place? He glanced around, looking for another point of entry, a message, a person lurking nearby…nothing. Harbor City wasn't as still as Hari Bulkan above it, but the partiers had all gathered in the commercial areas for the festivities.
"Hello?" Iroh spoke once he was out of ideas, tentatively reaching forward and rattling the lock. "I got your note, and I'm here alone and unarmed as promised. What now?"
No answer. Feeling equal parts hopeless and ridiculous for taking an anonymous letter seriously, Iroh turned to leave.
Naturally, that was when the ground vanished beneath his feet.
"He-!" The earth swallowed him up, cutting off his voice, his sight, even his breathing; although that last one might've just been his sheer panic. It was like when he'd been swept up in a large wave as a boy at the beach, tumbling head over heels with no clue which way was out, only it was mud and dirt carrying him away rather than seawater.
It ended about as quickly as an ocean wave too, spitting him out after a matter of seconds. He braced on his hands and knees and gasped for air, trying to get his bearings. This was what had happened to Ursa as well…did that mean she was somewhere nearby?
"Honestly, Cheng, one would think you've never been diving from your reaction."
That voice…Iroh knew that gleeful, giggling voice. He looked up, noting that he seemed to be on the inside of the abandoned house now, and came face-to-face with his guide from Omashu. "You!"
"Yes, me! Nice to see you again, young Cheng," he chuckled.
"You know perfectly well my name's not Cheng," Iroh spat. "Do me the honor of letting me know who I'm really dealing with, at least."
"The honor," the man bemoaned, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, two days in the Fire Nation and I'm already having my ear talked off about honor. I forgot how much you people love that word."
"Well, perhaps you need to hear about it more often. Then maybe you wouldn't do things as dishonorable as attacking a nation on its holy day."
"Holy day?" He cackled. "Oh, the Fire Nation used their Great Comet to launch their war on the world, and their young dragon stands before me and lectures me about not enacting war on holy days?"
Iroh grit his teeth. "That was different. Sozin's Comet was only of importance to our people. We can certainly initiate battle on our own days."
"Bends the truth, bends the truth, Azulon the Great he bends the truth," he sang. "The Air Nomads celebrated the Great Comet too, recall, or the attack on them wouldn't have been successful at all."
"The Air Nation lost any right to have their ceremonies respected when they conspired against us."
"I'm sure the twelve-year-olds among them very much deserved to be burned to ashes for their elders' actions."
His wide grin had gained a sinister quality. The statement reminded him too much of what Qin had said about Earth Kingdom civilians. Ignoring that thought, Iroh pressed on, "Is this what you took my wife for, old man? To argue the merits of the Air Nation battle with me?"
"Something like that." He plucked a piece of rock candy out of his sleeve and munched it heartily. "You snuck into my city, I snuck into yours. That makes us even. But not really, right? You snuck into my city because I attacked your ships, I attacked your ships because your father nearly killed me, and so on and so on."
I attacked your ships because your father nearly killed me. "You're…you're King Bumi," Iroh realized, a familiar fear coming over him as he registered just exactly how screwed he was. King Bumi could flatten him in a second and make sure the body was never found, and Iroh had allowed himself to be trapped in a room with him.
"Yes yes, that's me, very astute. I've been tangling with firebenders since I was younger than you, Prince Iroh, and I find myself in a neverending loop. I'm not fond of it. Your father, he's not the reasonable kind. Nearly got himself killed trying to kill me, and I'm not even the important Earth King. But you, I was hoping, might be a little more open to conversation before action."
"Because you've stolen my wife away."
"Call it a conversation starter," Bumi shrugged unrepentantly.
"I'll call it the end of your city, old man-"
"See, that's what I want to talk to you about." Bumi lifted his hands and created crude chairs for both of them out of the ground, making Iroh jump. "Please, have a seat."
"No thanks."
"Alright, tire your legs out. You're young enough to still be able to do that." Bumi lowered himself into his own chair with a sigh. "I'll tell you what I miss most about being twenty is the knees. Ooh, the toll heavy earthbending takes on the knees. I realized it too late."
Iroh just crossed his arms and glared. "Where's my wife?"
"Somewhere safe," Bumi said dismissively. "I haven't done anything to her besides what I did to you. You'll have her back once we reach an agreement."
"About?"
"How to end this neverending loop between your family and I, of course. Rock candy?"
"No," he ground out. "There's no end for us after what you've done, Bumi. This is too far."
"But you must find an end, or you'll never see your wife again," he pointed out. "What's more important to you? The vengeance of your father, or the safety of your wife?"
"It's my own vengeance too," Iroh reminded, but he couldn't deny that Ursa meant more to him. "What do you want, then?"
"I'm not foolish enough to think you can or will end the war," Bumi shrugged. "So I'll simply ask you to pause the war with my city."
"Excuse me?"
"Winning Omashu is secondary to your real prize: Ba Sing Se. You and I both know that city will stand for at least another ten to twenty years, however long it takes for you to build up your military career and amass the means to lay siege to its great walls. I'm getting older, and I want to live out the rest of my time in something resembling peace." He stretched, bones cracking meaningfully in the process. "In thirty years, this war will reach its hundred year mark and the Great Comet will return, no doubt with you as a Fire Lord in his prime. There's no hope left for any opponents of the Fire Nation at that point. Am I wrong?"
Begrudgingly, Iroh shook his head. Sozin's Comet had given his grandfather the ability to start the war, and its return in thirty years would undoubtedly let Iroh claim victory in it, if they didn't win by then. Ba Sing Se would fall for sure, and the rest of the world would fall like dominoes behind it.
"Well then, since the fall of Omashu is a foregone conclusion, I merely ask to delay it. Thirty years of peace for my city, Prince Iroh. Focus your efforts on Ba Sing Se and come back to claim us in the hundredth year of war."
Iroh laughed harshly. "It's quite a deal you've thought up."
"Indeed. Thirty years of peace in exchange for your wife. Of all the things I could have demanded, this is a rather reasonable one, isn't it?"
It was an insane demand, befitting of the Mad King's name. "You believe your city is destined to fall, so you want to delay it for thirty years, so you can…enjoy your old age?"
"That's right."
"And if I agree to this, you'll give Ursa back? And you won't bother us for the next thirty years either, right?"
Bumi nodded, a gleam in his eye. "I won't even tell anyone about this arrangement, or how easy it was for me to make it with you."
Swallowing down a lump of irritation, Iroh continued considering the offer. "What if my father doesn't honor our agreement?"
"What, you're powerless against your father? Some crown prince you are," he snorted. "You'll make an oath by fire, of course. I know how important words of honor are to your people, even if acting honorably has fallen by the wayside in wartime."
That remark sparked the tinder of Iroh's temper. "Listen, old man, negotiations don't give you the right to insult my people. What would you know of our honor?"
"What would I know? I know you hunted your own original benders to extinction. I know you lied to your people about why the Air Nomads had to die. I know you defiled sacred Air relics to trap those who escaped the temples. I know you keep earth and waterbenders in conditions worse than death until you can figure out how to use their powers for your own benefit." Bumi suddenly stood with such intensity that Iroh reflexively stepped back. "I'm older than your war, young dragon, and I know more of its history than you. The Fire Nation's so-called 'honorable war' has never existed and never can, not when it commenced with airbender children burning in their playground hideouts."
Iroh stared at the ground, fighting the urge to defend himself. He'd saved Ran and Shaw, hadn't he? And the Air Nation had deserved to be wiped out for the deception they'd enacted upon the world - posing as detached spiritual masters, when they really aspired to power over the other nations - but…the deaths of their children was difficult to justify even in those circumstances.
"I've never killed a child," he said finally, remembering how he'd convinced Ran and Shaw. "I'm not my father and grandfather. I'll give Omashu its thirty-year peace. Just…please, release my wife."
"Of course, since you said please. Once you swear the oath."
Oath by fire. He should've known Bumi would demand it. "I need fuel."
Bumi reached up and pulled a chunk of wood from the deteriorating roof, tossing it to Iroh. Briefly, Iroh considered how furious the Fire Lord would be when he went back to the palace with news of the pact he'd struck with Bumi. It didn't matter, he decided, as long as Ursa safely returned to the palace with him. He set the wood on fire and held it between his palms as a prayer.
"Hear me, Agni of the flame," Iroh intoned, "I am Iroh, son of Ilah, now passed, and Azulon. On this, the first day of the seventieth year of the Reign of Fire, I swear to uphold a thirty-year armistice between the Fire Nation and the kingdom of Omashu so long as they uphold the same. If I fail in my obligation or forget my oath, may your great fire consume my spirit and consign it to oblivion."
This was the Agni Pariksha - literally, fiery ordeal - which was a waning belief in the Fire Nation. Firebenders like Iroh who swore oaths by fire would be consumed by their own fire if they broke them, a punishment from Agni himself. Such incidents hadn't been recorded in centuries, but the superstition that it might happen remained, which was what made oath by fire so grave. Iroh pressed his palms into the burning wood and allowed it to singe the hair from his skin before it crumbled to ash.
"Good, good." Bumi was staring at him strangely, not that the man seemed capable of examining someone with a normal expression. "She means that much to you, does she?"
"Of course she does. Isn't that why you took her?"
"I played a hunch. Dragons have always been irrationally protective of their mates," he shrugged. "Your father wouldn't have made that deal, prince. Do you disagree?"
Nothing and no one can ever stand above your duty to the throne, Father had advised him once. Based on that, Iroh couldn't disagree with Bumi, but he refused to give him the satisfaction of it. He simply stayed still and silent.
"Alright, alright, don't look so constipated. You've won your wife back. Smile for her." The mad king lifted his arms and collapsed back into the floor, disappearing into yet another hole in the ground.
"Wait!" Iroh lurched forward, but he was already gone, the earth sealing itself like nothing had happened. Where was Ursa?
"Iroh?"
A false wall had collapsed with Bumi's departure. Ursa was behind it, looking a bit dusty but unharmed as she stumbled towards him. Relief flooded Iroh so intensely his legs almost gave out as he caught her in his arms.
"I'm so sorry." He was startled to realize how close to tears he was. "I'm so sorry, my love, I should've- I- are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she promised. "He didn't do anything to me but chat about flowers and put me in that room. He even apologized for 'dragging me into it.' He's so odd."
Odd wasn't the half of it, but there would be time for discussing that later. Iroh ran his hands down her back, through her hair, along her waist, satisfying himself that she was okay. She was okay, somehow. He hadn't let her down that badly this time. "Thank the spirits," he whispered.
"Iroh, you shouldn't have made that deal with him. Omashu's too important, isn't it?"
"It's not more important than you."
"That's not-" she laughed wetly and shook her head. "You could have figured something else out."
"I couldn't spend another moment knowing that madman had you captive."
"Oh…" she slumped in his arms. "It wasn't so bad. I knew you would come for me."
Iroh closed his eyes and drew a breath, finding the smell of her beneath the dust and fear cloaking the whole incident. Once he trekked back to the palace and told the Father what had happened, he would have a firestorm to face, but he didn't care. Ursa would be there when it was over, safe and sound, and that was all he cared about.
Ursa, cont.
It's silly and girlish to say, but what I remember most fondly about that day was how Iroh, in his relief, called me his love so naturally and reflexively he didn't even realize he'd said it for the first time. I wasn't ready to point it out, though, because I was still reeling from my ordeal. When I was dragged down into the earth, terrified and disoriented, only to emerge in some underground tunnel next to the man who'd just initiated me into the White Lotus the previous night, who was apparently an earthbender…well, you can imagine what I thought. (I'd been tricked by an enemy agent; no, I'd betrayed my nation by accidentally conspiring with him; no, I was going to die; no, even worse, I would be turned over to the Fire Lord as a traitor!) But Bumi, after calming me down with the ridiculous tale of how he'd concealed himself in a shipment of Earth Kingdom coal to make it into the Fire Nation, reminded me of something: he and I didn't know each other outside of the White Lotus. His attack on me was the best strategy for him as King of Omashu, and it had nothing to do with my initiation into the society.
Looking back, he was certainly lying, but he had good reason. Bumi's plan to use me as a bargaining chip was indeed good for him as King of Omashu, as evidenced by the thirty-year armistice he secured. However, it was also an excellent way for the White Lotus to learn more about Iroh and I. Through his gambit, Bumi saw that Iroh was indeed irrationally protective of me like the dragon he'd claimed to slay. He saw that Iroh prided himself on being distinct from his father and grandfather, and that he still put stock in Fire Nation traditions of honor that were arguably dated. Additionally, since I ended up keeping my oath to the White Lotus and not confessing everything to Iroh once I'd been freed, I proved myself to the society as genuine in my desire to be a member. And I learned things about the start of the war - specifically, the attack on the Air Nomads - that I hadn't known before. It was the kind of five-birds-with-one-stone gambit that only Bumi could have pulled off.
Azulon's anger was mighty, though, when Iroh went to his throne room and narrated what happened. Ozai told me later that it was the most upset their father had ever been with Iroh. After six hours of haranguing, Azulon ended up sending Iroh away for another mission in the Earth Kingdom, saying that the crown prince was going soft in his springtime with me. Perhaps Azulon was right, but I've always preferred a soft husband anyway.
In any case, although I missed Iroh being around the palace, it gave me some much needed space to breathe since I felt I was about to burst with all the secrecy. I dove into research again, trying to make sense of what Bumi had said about the Air Nomads while waiting for the White Lotus to reach out to me again. What did he mean, the royal family had lied about why the airbenders had to die? The answer, as it so often is, was uglier than I could have imagined.
"Master Qin?"
"Yes, Princess?" The head librarian adjusted his spectacles as he approached what had become 'her' table in the library.
"I have a history question. About the Air Nation?"
"Allow me to answer, then."
"I'm confused about something," she carefully confessed. Her weeks of reading hadn't gotten her anywhere, so it was time for outside help. "In school, I was taught that the Air Nation was raising a secret army to invade us, so we attacked them during Sozin's Comet to prevent it. Yet all the books in the royal library only speak of the Air Nation as nomadic monks and nuns, who embraced pacifism and vegetarianism. How did we come to know of their army, then, and where are our records of it?"
Qin raised an eyebrow at her. "You didn't study in a noble academy, did you, Princess?"
"No, Master," she answered, embarrassed by how uneducated she apparently sounded. "There was only one school for all the children in my hometown."
"I suspected as much, given how many tutors you've had since arriving here." He gestured at the chair next to her, sitting when she nodded her consent. "When Fire Lord Sozin attacked the Air Nation, it was a great risk for his reputation because they were, as you said, monks and nuns. The vast majority of them were known for bringing peace, wisdom, and charity wherever the winds blew them on their flying bison. The group that conspired against the Fire Nation was but a small number of extremists. However, the real danger lay in the potential of airbending."
"How so?"
"Fire is the superior element because we can simply produce it at will. Yet the same can be said of air. A waterbender can be jailed on land, an earthbender can be stranded at sea, but how do you separate an airbender from their element? Knowing that, what do you do when the extremist airbenders decide they don't want to choose pacifism anymore? Fire needs air to burn. People need air to live. And all that could have been taken away by anti-fire extremism spreading among airbenders, especially if they'd had the chance to teach such hatred to the Air Nation Avatar that was born among them." Master Qin sighed. "So Fire Lord Sozin struck them first, and to prevent any outcry on the respected airbenders' behalf, he told his citizens that the Air Nation had raised an army in secret. That is the history that continues to be taught publicly, to those students who need not know the complexities of the war's origins. But certain people know the truth, in order to remember history: the royals, the elite nobles, the high-ranking officers, and a handful of scholars such as myself."
Azulon the Great, he bends the truth, Bumi had said. "So there never was a secret army?" she clarified, feeling nauseous. Airbender children burned in their playground hideouts. "We wiped them out unprovoked?"
"Well, students of history have to come to their own conclusions about these questions. There was a group conspiring against us, The Guiding Wind. That much is true. They went so far as to recruit Fire Nation nobles into their cause. And the Air and Fire Nations had been on a collision course for years. The increasing industrialization of our nation flew in the face of the spirituality and respect for nature that the Air Nomads prized so highly, leading to anti-Fire Nation sentiment even among airbending elders who were not formally part of The Guiding Wind. Now, how far would they have gone to protect nature from what they perceived to be the threats of industrialization, especially with the power of an Air Nation Avatar on their side?" Qin shrugged. "Dealing in hypotheticals is always uncertain for us academic types, but Fire Lord Sozin deemed it enough of a provocation to wipe them out."
The Air Nation Avatar would have been the reincarnation of her grandfather, who'd betrayed Fire Lord Sozin. Was this the cause of their falling out? Had Roku disagreed with the plan to wipe out the Air Nation? The Air Avatar…he would have been at most twelve years old, based on when Roku had passed away. At that age, would he have even known why he and his people were being killed? This was the truth Bumi and the White Lotus had wanted her to learn, she realized, and it was still knowledge that she was technically permitted to have by Fire Lord Azulon. What secrets did he keep for just himself?
"Thank you for explaining it to me, Master Qin," she said. "Apparently, there are some blind spots in my lessons. I'm glad I have you to fill them."
"Of course, Princess. If there's any other confusion I can assuage, please let me know." He bowed slightly in his chair before standing with a grace rarely seen in elderly librarians and returning to his desk.
Ursa looked back at the book she'd been reading, An Overview of Air Nation Customs. The open page detailed their tattoos: blue arrows that followed the flow of chi in the body like the markings on flying bison, earned by mastery of the thirty-six tiers of airbending. Most airbenders were tattooed as young adults, a proud and joyous ceremony that usually doubled as a coming-of-age. The Air Avatar, and hundreds like him, had burned to death too young for tattoos.
A tear rolled down her cheek. Quickly, she wiped it away, hoping no one had seen.
A/N: I haven't read Reckoning of Roku yet so I'm just crossing my fingers and praying that nothing I'm putting here about Air-Fire relations is explicitly contradicted by that novel. I hope to read it soon because I just KNOW it'll be so fun to see young Roku-Gyatso-Sozin interactions (and because I can always use more lore to incorporate into this fic).
I do think it's silly that the Fire Nation is all about "honor" when they *checks notes* ambushed and genocided a bunch of pacifist monks/nuns/babies, so I very much enjoyed writing Bumi knocking some sense into Iroh in that regard. I like to think Bumi has Aang on the mind whenever he talks about the genocide, and I like to think young Iroh was a bit like Zuko in terms of being personally honorable while still sitting at the head of a cruel war machine until he finally saw how self-contradictory that was, so this chapter was an exploration of that. My girl Ursa never expressed any strong opinions on the war in canon, so I'm making it up on that front.
Heckuva long author's note, sorry. Thanks for reading!
~Bobbi