Wandering Firebender
Seventy Five: Family
Elio and his crew finally returned to the Fire Nation. When they landed on the airstrip, everyone made their way out and scattered off in different directions. Alger, Sri, and Cindra stood outside of the loading dock and waited for Elio to come out. He had his full uniform on when he did.
"Finally back home." He commented as he joined up with his friends.
"Are we just returning to our rooms?" Alger asked.
"Yeah. I have to speak with Fire Lord Zuko and give him a report. Either way, we won't be flying out for at least another week, so you guys can offload your stuff into your rooms if you want." He said.
"Oh okay. That explains why everyone just started walking away." Sri said with a chuckle.
"Heh, yeah. Anyways, Zuko is waiting for me probably, so I will meet up with you guys later." Elio said, nodding to them before making his way into the Fire Lord's palace.
Because of the timing of his arrival, Zuko ended up inviting Elio to join him for lunch. The two sat down at his table and had their discussion while they ate.
"...I'm glad you were able to handle the issue. Good job communicating with the spirit and resolving things peacefully. Doing so without Aang is something to be proud of. I'm impressed." Zuko said. Elio nodded appreciatively.
"Thank you. Good thing the moon spirit gave me this," Elio said, stroking the white part of his hair. "Otherwise, it could've gone a lot worse." He said with a little chuckle.
"Good thing," Zuko agreed with a nod. "And you were able to help the people repair everything that was damaged?" He asked next.
"Yes, sir. It's all been taken care of now." He confirmed.
"Good. That's good. I'm sure Aang will appreciative hearing about this too. Do you have anything else to report?" Zuko asked.
"No, sir...however, I do have something else that I'd like to discuss. Something personal." He brought up.
"Go ahead. Speak your mind." Zuko invited him.
"Well...since I've gotten back to the Fire Nation, I've only been able to see my family once. I want to repair things with them: my father, my mother, and my sister." He expressed.
"I see...can I be honest with you, Elio? What happened needed to happen, but I'm not sure if there's any coming back from that. It might be in your best interest to just leave it alone." Zuko suggested.
"Yeah, I don't know," Elio sighed. "It's...I don't know. But I'd like to at least try and do everything I can on my end. If it doesn't work out, I'd rather it be because of them and not because of something I could've done but didn't, you know?" He explained his thinking.
"Yeah...what do you have in mind?" Zuko asked...
"An invitation to the Fire Lord's palace?!" Taiga, Elio's sister, exclaimed in shock upon hearing the news.
"Yes. We've been invited to tour the entire palace and have dinner with Fire Lord Zuko. Do you still have that fine black dress?" Rue, Elio's mother, asked Taiga.
"Yes. I'll go and get it ready." She decided.
"It's been some time since I've been in the Fire Lord's palace." Sol, Elio's father, thought aloud as he looked over the invitation again.
"How did...oh. Is this because of Elio?" Taiga asked as the thought occurred to her. Rue and Sol looked at each other.
"Most likely." Sol acknowledged with a nod.
"Ah..." Taiga nodded quietly, not saying anything. There was some silence between the three of them before Rue spoke up.
"Well, we've been given an honorable invitation. It would be disrespectful not to accept it. If the Fire Lord wants us to appear as a family then that's what we should do. Right, dear?" Rue asked, looking to her husband.
"Agreed. Honey, your black dress would be perfect for this occasion. Perhaps you should try it on before we set out?" He suggested. Taiga nodded and turned towards her room.
"Sure. I'll be ready." She said before making her way into her room and closing the door behind her. Rue sighed to herself.
"What are we going to do?" She asked Sol quietly. He took a moment to run his thumb on her cheek before answering her.
"We go as a family. It's the proper thing to do. We'll see how things go."
So Elio's family got themselves ready, putting on their best clothes to visit the Fire Lord's palace that evening. When the hour arrived, escorts were sent to pick them up and give them a ride to the palace gates. Upon their arrival, they stepped towards the doors.
Elio was standing there waiting for them. He had on his uniform without the armor. After some debate, he chose not to carry his staff with him. He stood straight and gave them his best welcoming smile as they approached him.
"Hey. Glad you all could make it." Elio said.
"We appreciate the invite, son. I see you've started to break in your new uniform." Sol observed, noticing indications of soot and the fading of the black material on his uniform.
"Yes, haha, Fire Lord Zuko has me running all around. Please, come on in." Elio said, opening the door to the palace himself and letting his family enter.
"Thank you for arranging this, Elio." Rue said as they entered.
"You're welcome," Elio said. Taiga was the last to enter. She stopped for a moment, turning and staring at Elio. She had done her hair up in a bun and had on a fine black dress with matching shoes. "You look really nice." He complimented her.
"Thanks." She acknowledged his compliment before fully stepping inside. Elio entered behind them. An escort was waiting inside for them.
"Hello! Welcome, Chinen family, to the royal palace! My name Ju Di, and I'll be giving you a tour of the inner chambers. It is an honor to serve the family of such an esteemed general." Their tour guide introduced herself and bowed respectfully.
"Um...thank you." Sol said in response.
"Did you say we're getting a tour of the inner chambers?" Taiga asked.
"Yes! We'll be making our way through the throne room, the training grounds, the new airstrip, and the hall of murals. And once we've visited every area, the Fire Lord wishes for your family to join him for dinner." Ju Di laid out the plans for their afternoon.
"Oh wow." Taiga said in surprise.
"Yes. You are our guests of honor this evening. Now please, if you're ready to begin, follow me. We will start at the training grounds." Ju Di invited and began to lead them. The Chinen family followed behind her.
"Did you really spring for all of this, brother?" Taiga asked Elio quietly, leaning towards him.
"Yeah. What do you think? Not bad, huh?"
"Not bad at all." She agreed with him.
So the Chinen family began their tour of the Fire Nation palace. Sol, who had been to all of these places already, was able to share almost as much information as Ju Di was. He would occasionally go off on tangents, recalling stories from his own time serving in the military.
Rue, who had heard many of these stories before but never the locations they had taken place in, was particularly interested in the architecture. Seeing the throne room and the hall of murals brought the most questions out of her, all of which Ju Di was happy to answer.
Taiga, who had never set foot inside the palace before, was quietly taking everything in. She didn't say much, but Elio could tell that she was taking mental notes of everything, trying to soak in all of the history and knowledge that Ju Di and their father were laying out.
On his end, Elio was just happy to see that his family seemed to be enjoying the tour in their own ways. It was his hope that he could show them in this way that the Fire Nation still held the family in high regard, and by extension, so did he.
"Hey, check it out. That's my airship over there." Elio pointed out to his family.
"Which one?" His mother asked.
"That big one there with the point on the front?" Taiga asked.
"Heheh, yep, the one with the point." Elio answered with a chuckle.
"Oh wow. That's one of the biggest ones, isn't it?" Rue asked.
"Actually-"
"No, in fact, these models were among the first designs. We have larger ones, but nowadays these are among the ones that are most commonly used by our air force." Ju Di answered, interrupting Elio.
"Yeah, that." He agreed.
"Oh wow. So what does that make you?" Taiga asked, pointing at her brother.
"I'm a captain." Elio answered.
"I see. Very impressive, son." Rue said with a nod.
"Aww, haha. Oh, it looks like the time is approaching for dinner! We should begin heading inside." Ju Di said.
"Ah, yes. We shouldn't keep the Fire Lord waiting, that's for sure." Sol said.
The family of four followed Ju Di back into the palace. They began making their way past the hall of murals towards the throne room. On their way there, they passed by a certain someone dressed in blue who was walking in the other direction.
"Oh hey, Elio! What's going on?" She greeted him with a smile and a wave.
"Heya, Cindra. I'm here with my family right now. We're on our way to have dinner with Fire Lord Zuko." He quickly explained to her.
"Oh...ohh!" Cindra's eyes widened as what Elio was telling her fully sank in. Her eyes scanned over Elio's family, and she realized how strangely similar they looked to her own family.
"Hello again." Sol greeted her politely upon recognizing her. Cindra swallowed nervously, and her face grew a little pale.
"...hi."
"You know her already?" Taiga asked.
"We've met once before, yes." Sol confirmed with a nod.
There was an awkward pause amongst the group, since only Cindra, Elio, and Sol himself knew what that statement meant, as well as everything that was behind it. Finally, Taiga broke the silence as she took a few steps towards Cindra.
"You must be a friend of my brother's. I'm Taiga." She introduced herself.
"N-Nice to meet you, Taiga! Yes, my name is Cindra. I go on missions with Elio like all the time." Cindra said in response, offering a handshake. Taiga briefly shook it.
"Cool...never met a waterbender before." Taiga commented.
"I apologize. I don't wish to be rude, but the Fire Lord is expecting you all at his table right about now." Ju Di brought up, politely urging for them to hurry up.
"Right, sorry! I'm keeping you guys." Cindra realized.
"Nah, you're fine. We'll talk later, Cindra." Elio said, waving to her as she began to leave.
"Yeah! Bye! Enjoy your dinner!" She said before hurrying off...
Finally, Ju Di brought the family of four to the Fire Lord's dining room. They stepped inside and approached the long table. When they entered, Zuko stood up from his grand chair at the end of the table. He made his way to them and greeted them with a nod.
"Welcome. Or I suppose I should say 'welcome back' to you, general." Zuko greeted Elio's father first. Sol did a formal Fire Nation bow first out of respect before greeting the Fire Lord with a firm handshake.
"It's a pleasure, Zuko. You've grown some since I last saw you. Time has aged you well these past few years." Sol complimented.
"It's nice to see you again too. Is this your family's first time visiting the palace?" Zuko asked.
"For my wife and daughter, yes it is." Sol said, placing one hand on his Rue's shoulder and the other hand on Taiga's shoulder. They both nervously stepped forward.
"It's an honor to be in your presence, Fire Lord Zuko." Rue said as both she and Taiga bowed before him.
"The honor is all mine," Zuko said before shaking hands with Rue. "Welcome to the palace, Mrs. Chinen."
"Please, just call me Rue."
"Alright," Zuko agreed before shaking hands with Taiga. "Elio's told me quite a bit about you. He says that you're very skilled with you firebending. About as skilled as he is."
"At least he still acknowledges that," Taiga said before taking his hand and shaking it in return. "It's...nice to finally meet you." She said nervously.
"It's nice to meet you too. Please, come and sit down. I believe your seats have already been assigned." Zuko said as he made his way to the table.
The Chinen family followed Zuko to the end of the table. Sure enough, there were little name cards on the plates set before each of their seats. Zuko sat at the end with Elio to his right and Sol to his left. Rue sat next to Sol while Taiga sat next to Elio.
"It's so nice in here. Do you eat here every day?" Taiga asked Zuko curiously.
"Honestly? I have my own areas that I prefer to eat, but this is the best space for entertaining guests." Zuko answered her.
"That's the traditional way to do it. I remember once a long time ago, back when I had first become a general, your father invited me to eat here. You weren't even born yet. It was just me, him and your mother." Sol recalled.
"I didn't know that you had known our family for that long. Although, it only makes sense. You've served the Fire Nation for a very long time, and we're grateful for your service." Zuko said formally.
"I have...hmm...may I speak freely, sir?" Sol requested.
"You may."
"The Fire Nation has had one goal in mind longer than I've been alive. But I've seen how things are beginning to change since we lost the war. Are you certain that this new course of action is what is wisest for the Fire Nation?" Sol asked.
"Honey...perhaps this isn't the right time." Rue said worriedly.
"Well, who's to say when there would be another time?" Elio commented, "I'd like to hear the Fire Lord's answer, personally." He said, sitting back in his chair.
"Of course," Zuko turned towards Sol again. "I have nothing but respect for your service, general, but there's no getting around the fact that times are changing now. The old ways of trying to overthrow the other nations has only hurt countless people, us included." Zuko said.
"But the Fire Nation has done nothing but thrive and spread since the war began." Taiga pointed out.
"At the expense of families less fortunate than ours," Zuko countered. "While the rest of the world has suffered physically, the Fire Nation has suffered spiritually just as long."
"Spiritually?" Rue repeated.
"It's a mindset thing," Elio spoke up. "Showing cruelty to others, disregarding what's fair and balanced. Like how we almost took out the moon and ocean spirits at the North Pole." He used as an example. He brushed his hand back through his hair.
"...so what does that mean?" Taiga asked.
"My uncle taught me some time ago that in order to make things whole again, we all have to be willing to set aside our differences and work together – learn from each other. It's the only way to make things right in a way we all can agree with." Zuko explained.
"I guess I can understand your intentions, sir. But there's a substantial history there – ugly history," Sol pointed out as their food was served in front of them. "It might be a little too optimistic to think that people will just fall in line.
"I'm especially thinking of the Earth Kingdom. You know how stubborn they can be." Sol said.
"Yeah, tell me about it." Elio agreed with a roll of his eyes.
"I'm not saying it'll be easy. But it's what has to happen...tell me, general, what is it that worries you the most about making peace with the other nations?" Zuko asked, taking a sip of his drink.
"Well...the Fire Nation is strong and powerful. Why should we have to give up who we are just to appease these other nations?" Sol asked.
"The Fire Nation isn't going to lose its identity. But peace is more important than pride. Don't you think it's time that all the fighting came to an end?" Zuko asked.
"I do," Sol answered, looking across the table at his son for a moment before speaking to Zuko again. "My loyalty will always be to the Fire Nation and the royal family, sir." He stated.
"No one is questioning your loyalty, general. In fact, I sincerely hope that you and your family continue to stay close to the palace for years to come." Zuko said.
"Well...my children here are the legacy that I leave behind. If I cannot serve then let them be of use to you however you wish." Sol said, looking at Elio and Taiga.
Elio and Taiga looked at their father and then at each other. It had been a long time since either of them had heard their father speak that way about them. In that moment, Elio knew that his family was finally starting to understand...
After that discussion, the rest of the evening was much more relaxed. After talking some more and finishing their food, Zuko bid them farewell and Elio walked with them to the front of the palace where they were to be taken back home.
"Well, this turned out to be quite a nice time. Thank you for putting this together, Elio." Rue said appreciatively.
"You're welcome. I'm glad it worked out. It was nice to spend time together as a family again." Elio said sincerely, although it made him nervous to say it.
"Yes, it was," Sol agreed. He stepped up to Elio and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "Take care on your next mission, son. Be safe."
"I will, father," Elio said with a nod. "Thank you."
And with that, his parents gave him approving smiles and nods before turning and going to meet up with their escort who would take them home. However, Taiga lingered behind with Elio for a few more moments, waiting until Sol and Rue were a small distance away.
"That was smart of you, using your position and your relationship with the Fire Lord to win Mom and Dad over." She commented to him.
"I just wanted you to see where I'm coming from." Elio said in response.
"Yeah. Well, you know how Dad is on the family honor. After tonight, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before they come around." She said, folding her arms a little in front of her.
"...Taiga, I don't want what I did in the past to be the reason our family can't be whole again. I'm trying here."
"I know you are," She acknowledged, turning towards him. "If you think this will just magically erase everything that happened, it won't. Not for me."
"I don't expect it to go away. I just don't want it to be the end. You know I need my little sister." Elio said, managing a little pained smile. Taiga scoffed a little.
"Yeah. Well...the tour was really nice. Thanks for that. I've never been inside the palace before. I'll be sure to brag about that later." She said.
Elio stepped up next to Taiga and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her gently into a side hug. Taiga allowed him to hold her for a few seconds. He gave her a kiss on the side of her head before letting her go.
"Goodnight, Taiga." He said finally.
"Night, Elio...and hey, your uniform's pretty cool." She complimented him. Elio cracked a little smile and nodded silently in response. Taiga nodded back before turning and joining up with Sol and Rue.
Elio stood there and watched them leave, his heart still feeling heavy but just a little less. He still had a long way to go as far as patching things up with them, but this was definitely a step in the right direction from what he could tell.
Elio made his way back into the palace and met up with Zuko again as he was making his way into his private chambers, "Can we talk for a minute?" He requested.
"Sure. Come in." Zuko nodded and allowed Elio to follow him into his room. The doors were shut behind them.
"Thank you for tonight, Zuko. It really helped a lot." Elio said appreciatively.
"I'm glad. I wasn't sure it would, especially with how skeptical your father was, but it sounds like he might understand a little better now."
"They all do," Elio said with a nod. "At least, I hope they do. Either way, thank you for giving me a chance to try." He thanked Zuko again.
"You're welcome. Have a good night, Elio. Get some rest." Zuko said.
"I will...can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"How is Azula doing?" Elio asked. Zuko's head turned a little bit, surprised by this sudden question.
"She's...well, she's being seen every day, but there hasn't been much progress. She refuses to speak to any of the doctors." He answered. Elio's eyebrows furrowed at this and he nodded.
"I see...I hope things get better for her. Please, keep me posted on that."
"Why the sudden interest?" Zuko asked.
"Because...family's important. Seems like we're both looking for some closure there." Elio presumed.
"Yeah...I only see that happening for one of us." Zuko said honestly.
"Well, we do what we can, right? That's all we can do." Elio said with a shrug.
"I appreciate your concern, Elio. If there's anything else I can do for you, let me know."
"I will. And same to you," He replied with a nod before seeing himself out. "Goodnight." He gave Zuko a quick wave before shutting the door behind him...