[Lightning at Sea] Volcano
So I lied. I cleaned up a requested ficlet to use as canon for the Lightning at Sea/Water Tribe as aggressors AU. Next up will be "Taken at the Flood", which I haven't even started writing yet.
Title: Volcano
Characters: Zuko, Lu Ten, Ketu (OC), Toph, the Bei Fongs
Word Count: 1206
Rating: G
Summary: Due to increased danger from the Water Tribes, Prince Zuko is taken to be hand-fasted to his arranged wife.
Author's Notes: "Tide and Time" takes place before and around the Spring Equinox. This takes place during the early summer. "Taken at the Flood" will take place in the late autumn of the same year.
---
"I don't know about this, cousin..." Zuko winced as his voice cracked. "I mean, I'm not even an adult yet, and you said she was four years younger than me..."
Why can't it wait, he wanted to know. Why did they have to go rushing across half the Earth Kingdom now? Especially for an arranged marriage. It made no sense.
Unless it had something to do with why his father wasn't here. For the last three years, cousin Lu Ten had never left his father alone, and the rogue airbender Ketu had served with Ozai for as long as Zuko could remember. To be in the saddle on Ketu's sky-bison without Ozai meant something had happened.
"You're almost a man, Zuko. What's a couple of months, give or take?" Lu Ten gave his ponytail a playful bat, and Zuko sighed in annoyance.
Ketu glanced back at them from where he sat on his bison's neck. The black mohawk that covered his airbending tattoo and left the rest of his scalp bare was pulled into an intricate braid today. The henna patterns on his hands that marked him as a rogue were more elaborate than they'd been three years ago, but his clothing was still airy and bright. "It won't be so bad, Prince Zuko. She's a nice little girl."
Lu Ten nodded in agreement. "Besides, we're just sealing the marriage. Nothing's expected from you but giving the oath."
"Why are we sealing it now?" Zuko demanded. "She's eleven, I'm fifteen! What's really going on?"
Lu Ten's smile vanished, and he shared a glance with Ketu. Then his cousin rolled his shoulders in a shrug. "Well, you're almost a man. You should know this." He paused. "Your uncle killed a Water Tribe assassin a week ago."
-Oh, hell.
If the Water Tribe knew where the Fire Court was... Zuko's mind raced through the possibilities. Secrecy kept the Fire Nation Court alive. Surely his uncle could take anything the Water Tribe could throw at him, but there were many more who relied on the protection of the Firelord who couldn't. Knowing they had been discovered, his uncle could not, would not keep his people at the Court.
The Court had to move. In secret. Those least able to protect themselves would be sent away to safe hiding places, while others gathered what had to be taken. But there was so many things, artifacts of the old dynasties, reports from the daimyos and generals who still lived. The Fire Nation Court had been where it was for as long as Zuko and Azula had lived with their uncle; he couldn't imagine the effort to move it all-
They'd sent him away.
His eyes narrowed as he stared at Lu Ten. They'd sent him away like a child. They-
"What about my sister?" Zuko asked quietly. "What's being done with her?"
"Li and Lo have taken her someplace safe," Lu Ten said.
Zuko tried not to feel a little bit of relief at that. This was bad. This was one of the worst things that could happen. If the Water Tribes wiped out the Court before the Great Comet returned, they'd lose everything.
Still. It wasn't just him being sent away.
"I suppose my father is with her."
Lu Ten frowned. "Your father is... doing what he does. To keep the Water Tribe's attention."
No wonder Ketu and Lu Ten were here and not with Ozai. They were letting him run rampant.
Zuko shuddered and squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the tension in the scarred skin around his left eye.
***
Zuko felt awkward, standing before the Bei Fongs. The lord and lady kept eyeing his armor warily, making Zuko uncomfortably aware of how rich their clothes were. He wasn't sure he had any clothes that fine.
The Fire Nation didn't have a lot of room for finery these days.
What really bothered him was his future wife. His heart had stopped when she turned her face towards him the first time. Milky-white eyes, and she looked so small and delicate.
Her father said she was being trained as an earthbender, because she had the ability. She'd never be a fighter, of course, he said. His tone disapproved and rebuked - all the Fire Nation cared about was fighting, wasn't it?
Zuko wanted to protest that he would still love her and cherish her, that her being blind didn't mean he would treat her less or dally with women of his own people. That he didn't need a warrior-wife, he had one for a sister.
He let Lu Ten do the talking, though. Cousin Lu Ten was better with people than he was.
The Bei Fongs threw a fine feast for them, with yellow rice wine and pheasant-squirrel stuffed with dates. The Lady Bei Fong assured them the wedding banquet in three days would be far finer.
Zuko didn't tell them this was the finest meal he'd ever eaten.
After dinner, Lu Ten touched his arm. "Why don't you take Toph out into the gardens? I'm sure she'd appreciate it."
Zuko gulped and nodded, then walked stiffly over to the little girl. She lifted her head at his approach but didn't turn to look at him.
Stupid, he scolded himself. She can't. "Would you like to go into the garden, Miss Toph?"
An expression of discontent flashed across her face. "Sure."
He wasn't sure if he should help her out of her chair and out to the gardens, and he froze while she stood up. She thrust her arm at him, and he carefully gripped her by the elbow.
Then she all but hauled him through the house and out into the back garden. Rose-lily scent filled the air, and fireflies fluttered among the bushes. Their light caught in their stained-glass wings, creating beautiful effects on the leaves.
"You don't talk much," Toph said suddenly.
"Um... I- Don't really have a lot to say," he said, kicking himself for how lame that sounded. "I've never seen a place like this before."
"Neither have I."
Zuko found himself mortified at his choice in words until he realized she was snickering.
"Sit down, Firestarter," she said, tone so imperious that Zuko found himself obeying before he even thought about it. She reached out and ran her hands over his armor. "What's all this for?"
"Um, protecting myself. It's designed to take fireblasts and iceblasts without letting me burn or freeze. Stops knives. Deflects swords and clubs. That kind of thing."
"Yeah?" She looked interested. "You really have to worry about that kind of thing?"
He shrugged, then remembered she couldn't see him. "Sometimes. Fire, yeah, a lot, because that's part of training." He shifted uncomfortably as her little hands wandered up to his face and started patting him there. "Weapons, too, for training. The ice protection... We're being careful."
He winced as she touched his scar. She frowned, patted, rubbed her fingers into it, and he tried not to show the way that felt. "Why's your skin different here?"
"I was... burned. It was an accident." Sort of. Zuko didn't want to explain what had happened to Toph. Explaining it to his uncle had been hard enough.
"You need better armor, Firestarter," she said. "Don't worry, though. I'll keep anyone else from hurting you."
End
Title: Volcano
Characters: Zuko, Lu Ten, Ketu (OC), Toph, the Bei Fongs
Word Count: 1206
Rating: G
Summary: Due to increased danger from the Water Tribes, Prince Zuko is taken to be hand-fasted to his arranged wife.
Author's Notes: "Tide and Time" takes place before and around the Spring Equinox. This takes place during the early summer. "Taken at the Flood" will take place in the late autumn of the same year.
---
"I don't know about this, cousin..." Zuko winced as his voice cracked. "I mean, I'm not even an adult yet, and you said she was four years younger than me..."
Why can't it wait, he wanted to know. Why did they have to go rushing across half the Earth Kingdom now? Especially for an arranged marriage. It made no sense.
Unless it had something to do with why his father wasn't here. For the last three years, cousin Lu Ten had never left his father alone, and the rogue airbender Ketu had served with Ozai for as long as Zuko could remember. To be in the saddle on Ketu's sky-bison without Ozai meant something had happened.
"You're almost a man, Zuko. What's a couple of months, give or take?" Lu Ten gave his ponytail a playful bat, and Zuko sighed in annoyance.
Ketu glanced back at them from where he sat on his bison's neck. The black mohawk that covered his airbending tattoo and left the rest of his scalp bare was pulled into an intricate braid today. The henna patterns on his hands that marked him as a rogue were more elaborate than they'd been three years ago, but his clothing was still airy and bright. "It won't be so bad, Prince Zuko. She's a nice little girl."
Lu Ten nodded in agreement. "Besides, we're just sealing the marriage. Nothing's expected from you but giving the oath."
"Why are we sealing it now?" Zuko demanded. "She's eleven, I'm fifteen! What's really going on?"
Lu Ten's smile vanished, and he shared a glance with Ketu. Then his cousin rolled his shoulders in a shrug. "Well, you're almost a man. You should know this." He paused. "Your uncle killed a Water Tribe assassin a week ago."
-Oh, hell.
If the Water Tribe knew where the Fire Court was... Zuko's mind raced through the possibilities. Secrecy kept the Fire Nation Court alive. Surely his uncle could take anything the Water Tribe could throw at him, but there were many more who relied on the protection of the Firelord who couldn't. Knowing they had been discovered, his uncle could not, would not keep his people at the Court.
The Court had to move. In secret. Those least able to protect themselves would be sent away to safe hiding places, while others gathered what had to be taken. But there was so many things, artifacts of the old dynasties, reports from the daimyos and generals who still lived. The Fire Nation Court had been where it was for as long as Zuko and Azula had lived with their uncle; he couldn't imagine the effort to move it all-
They'd sent him away.
His eyes narrowed as he stared at Lu Ten. They'd sent him away like a child. They-
"What about my sister?" Zuko asked quietly. "What's being done with her?"
"Li and Lo have taken her someplace safe," Lu Ten said.
Zuko tried not to feel a little bit of relief at that. This was bad. This was one of the worst things that could happen. If the Water Tribes wiped out the Court before the Great Comet returned, they'd lose everything.
Still. It wasn't just him being sent away.
"I suppose my father is with her."
Lu Ten frowned. "Your father is... doing what he does. To keep the Water Tribe's attention."
No wonder Ketu and Lu Ten were here and not with Ozai. They were letting him run rampant.
Zuko shuddered and squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the tension in the scarred skin around his left eye.
***
Zuko felt awkward, standing before the Bei Fongs. The lord and lady kept eyeing his armor warily, making Zuko uncomfortably aware of how rich their clothes were. He wasn't sure he had any clothes that fine.
The Fire Nation didn't have a lot of room for finery these days.
What really bothered him was his future wife. His heart had stopped when she turned her face towards him the first time. Milky-white eyes, and she looked so small and delicate.
Her father said she was being trained as an earthbender, because she had the ability. She'd never be a fighter, of course, he said. His tone disapproved and rebuked - all the Fire Nation cared about was fighting, wasn't it?
Zuko wanted to protest that he would still love her and cherish her, that her being blind didn't mean he would treat her less or dally with women of his own people. That he didn't need a warrior-wife, he had one for a sister.
He let Lu Ten do the talking, though. Cousin Lu Ten was better with people than he was.
The Bei Fongs threw a fine feast for them, with yellow rice wine and pheasant-squirrel stuffed with dates. The Lady Bei Fong assured them the wedding banquet in three days would be far finer.
Zuko didn't tell them this was the finest meal he'd ever eaten.
After dinner, Lu Ten touched his arm. "Why don't you take Toph out into the gardens? I'm sure she'd appreciate it."
Zuko gulped and nodded, then walked stiffly over to the little girl. She lifted her head at his approach but didn't turn to look at him.
Stupid, he scolded himself. She can't. "Would you like to go into the garden, Miss Toph?"
An expression of discontent flashed across her face. "Sure."
He wasn't sure if he should help her out of her chair and out to the gardens, and he froze while she stood up. She thrust her arm at him, and he carefully gripped her by the elbow.
Then she all but hauled him through the house and out into the back garden. Rose-lily scent filled the air, and fireflies fluttered among the bushes. Their light caught in their stained-glass wings, creating beautiful effects on the leaves.
"You don't talk much," Toph said suddenly.
"Um... I- Don't really have a lot to say," he said, kicking himself for how lame that sounded. "I've never seen a place like this before."
"Neither have I."
Zuko found himself mortified at his choice in words until he realized she was snickering.
"Sit down, Firestarter," she said, tone so imperious that Zuko found himself obeying before he even thought about it. She reached out and ran her hands over his armor. "What's all this for?"
"Um, protecting myself. It's designed to take fireblasts and iceblasts without letting me burn or freeze. Stops knives. Deflects swords and clubs. That kind of thing."
"Yeah?" She looked interested. "You really have to worry about that kind of thing?"
He shrugged, then remembered she couldn't see him. "Sometimes. Fire, yeah, a lot, because that's part of training." He shifted uncomfortably as her little hands wandered up to his face and started patting him there. "Weapons, too, for training. The ice protection... We're being careful."
He winced as she touched his scar. She frowned, patted, rubbed her fingers into it, and he tried not to show the way that felt. "Why's your skin different here?"
"I was... burned. It was an accident." Sort of. Zuko didn't want to explain what had happened to Toph. Explaining it to his uncle had been hard enough.
"You need better armor, Firestarter," she said. "Don't worry, though. I'll keep anyone else from hurting you."
End