The man formerly known as the king of omashu
Title: The Man Formerly Known as the King of Omashu
Rating: G
Characters: Bumi
Warning: None
Word Count: 510
Bumi watched as his countrymen abandoned the city. They were lead by the Avatar; he knew he didn’t have to worry about them anymore. His reign was officially over. He was never really meant to be king anyway. He remembered the carefree days of his youth he spent with the young man who was leading his people to freedom.
When he was young, the last thing he expected was for the young princess to fall in love with him. He was dirty, his clothes were often patched, his hair wild. Yet when he grew into a teenager, he couldn’t help but notice how the girl princess would look at him when she was on her royal excursions. He didn’t think much of it, until she spoke to him once. It didn’t take long for him to figure out that she liked him.
Before long the two were meeting in secret. It was no secret that her father would’ve never approved. But that didn’t stop them. As she got older she told Bumi of her father’s pressuring her to select a husband, often forcing her to formal dinners with princes of nearby cities. Her mother forbid her from leaving the palace, claiming that Bumi’s weirdness must be rubbing off on her, for she was well beyond the normal age of engagement. It was after that incident that Bumi asked her to elope with him.
When they returned Bumi wasn’t the prince for long. His father-in-law took ill when the princess escaped. When she came back, married to a man he disapproved of, his health took a turn for the worse.
Before their first year of marriage had passed, Bumi ascended to the throne and his new bride was in mourning for her father. There was no shortage of critics. Or conspiracy rumors. The last king’s royal advisors refused to even look in Bumi’s general direction.
Initially Bumi was glad to not be seen as the “real” king. It was a responsibility he never wanted. He hadn’t the first idea how to run a store, much less Omashu. He sat back and watched, if they didn’t want him as their king, he wouldn’t force them. Within the next three years he watched his wife’s kingdom begin to fall apart. Orphans and widows weren’t being cared for. Laws were being selectively enforced. The poor were being exploited.
It was then that he realized that whether he wanted it or not, he had to be king, not for his own sake. He sought his wife’s counsel; she was wise and knowledgeable about such matters. At first he was ignored. But little by little he began earning the trust of people. By the time his hair went white and his wife passed away he was a well loved and very wise king.
Rating: G
Characters: Bumi
Warning: None
Word Count: 510
Bumi watched as his countrymen abandoned the city. They were lead by the Avatar; he knew he didn’t have to worry about them anymore. His reign was officially over. He was never really meant to be king anyway. He remembered the carefree days of his youth he spent with the young man who was leading his people to freedom.
When he was young, the last thing he expected was for the young princess to fall in love with him. He was dirty, his clothes were often patched, his hair wild. Yet when he grew into a teenager, he couldn’t help but notice how the girl princess would look at him when she was on her royal excursions. He didn’t think much of it, until she spoke to him once. It didn’t take long for him to figure out that she liked him.
Before long the two were meeting in secret. It was no secret that her father would’ve never approved. But that didn’t stop them. As she got older she told Bumi of her father’s pressuring her to select a husband, often forcing her to formal dinners with princes of nearby cities. Her mother forbid her from leaving the palace, claiming that Bumi’s weirdness must be rubbing off on her, for she was well beyond the normal age of engagement. It was after that incident that Bumi asked her to elope with him.
When they returned Bumi wasn’t the prince for long. His father-in-law took ill when the princess escaped. When she came back, married to a man he disapproved of, his health took a turn for the worse.
Before their first year of marriage had passed, Bumi ascended to the throne and his new bride was in mourning for her father. There was no shortage of critics. Or conspiracy rumors. The last king’s royal advisors refused to even look in Bumi’s general direction.
Initially Bumi was glad to not be seen as the “real” king. It was a responsibility he never wanted. He hadn’t the first idea how to run a store, much less Omashu. He sat back and watched, if they didn’t want him as their king, he wouldn’t force them. Within the next three years he watched his wife’s kingdom begin to fall apart. Orphans and widows weren’t being cared for. Laws were being selectively enforced. The poor were being exploited.
It was then that he realized that whether he wanted it or not, he had to be king, not for his own sake. He sought his wife’s counsel; she was wise and knowledgeable about such matters. At first he was ignored. But little by little he began earning the trust of people. By the time his hair went white and his wife passed away he was a well loved and very wise king.