Chapter Text
I hold in my yawn as I leave the palace, the rays of the sun hitting me bringing back some of my energy which I use to rush down the steps into the city.
I’m already late for my next appointment, but the meeting with some neighbouring town’s merchants took longer than I thought it would. There were talks about more trade routes, but to be honest I was more focused on trying to actually appear focused and not let my eyes slip closed.
I barely managed to wave to Bumi before I had to run out of the room, which is difficult with my long dress. It’s not exactly my sort of outfit with a light green skirt and a darker green robe over the top with yellow sleeves and gold detailing. But I know I have to start dressing the part.
Now standing in front of the store, head aching in protest, I wonder if the rush was such a good idea, but at least I’m only a couple of minutes past the arranged time. Though I do have to take a moment to make sure my black hair hasn’t fallen out of its bun, and I push some strays back into place.
I walk into the store, the new bell rattling as the door opens, only to be confronted by the sight of the shopkeeper tapping his fingers on the counter.
Though as soon as he sees me he quickly stills that movement and faces me, back straight. “Hi, Bamo, sorry I’m a little late, my last meet…”
“It’s fine,” he interrupts briskly. “So, about my shop?”
I pull my face into a neutral one before I unroll the scroll in my hands. “Ah yes, well I have looked into your request for an expansion but unfortunately right now we do not have the supplies or the manpower, but if you put in the request again in a couple of months…”
“What, why do I have to wait?” He demands, he keeps his voice still, but I can tell by the furrow of his eyebrows that he’s trying to keep himself from getting angry.
“Well as you know there are still many things of importance being rebuilt after the war,” I explain calmly, making a mental note that I should really check on the progress of the new mailroom while I’m in the city.
“You mean after the Fire Nation destroyed our city,” he mutters, head turned in a way I’m pretty sure means I wasn’t supposed to hear, so I take a subtle breath, and resist the urge to play with the end of my sleeves.
“I’m sorry that this is an inconvenience to you, but I promise as soon as we are able I will have people here to help you blueprint the expansion,” I tell him sincerely.
“Yeah, sure, have a nice day,” he replies terse, bowing before going to the back of his shop and I take that as a sign to leave.
I feel my eyes droop as I stand in the street, the sun not doing much to wake me despite it being in the middle of the sky, though that does mean it’s time for lunch so maybe food will do it instead.
I glance around the bustling streets as I walk, looking for a place to eat. Bamo’s comment reminding me that it was only two years ago that this city was a completely different place. It took months of sending letters and personally searching to bring back most of the citizens, though some still chose to stay where they had relocated.
It was a surprise though when so many other people came not long after the war ended, that’s part of why we’re behind with rebuilding because first, we had to make space for all these people who wanted to make Omashu their new home, and neither Bumi nor I were going to push them away, there was no need for that anymore.
“Solmi!” I hear a call, and I look across the street to see an old friend of my father’s waving at me. “I don’t suppose you can help me with a small favour?”
“Of course, I’ll be right there,” I reply, already making my way to her.
—--
I end up getting back to the palace by early evening and I immediately head to the throne room. There are documents to look at and after talking to my father’s friend I need to write a letter to King Kuei about possibly having some healers sent here to help teach some of the citizens.
“Oh, Solmi, dear, can I talk to you?” Bumi intercepts me at the door to the grand room.
I jump slightly, not having even seen the old man waiting. “Oh, uncle, I didn’t see you there. Of course, what did you need?” I reply immediately, continuing past him so we can talk as I walk over to my desk,
“My dearest niece you need to slow down for a minute, and rest” Bumi interrupts my ramblings.
I stop in the middle of the room, turning around to face him as soon as I recognise his tone of voice, and as I expect he has that face again. It’s been creeping up a lot more recently. It’s the one that tells me he thinks I’m doing too much.
“Not this again, Uncle,” I complain, moving further into the room to a side room I put in that holds all waiting documents. “I’m fine.”
“I can tell you didn’t sleep again last night” he replies sternly, gently grabbing my arm and pulling me to face him before resting his hands on my shoulders. I turn my head from his gaze, not liking the pointed glance at the shadows I’m sure are under my eyes. “You need a break, you’re overworking yourself.”
“I appreciate your concern, but I really do need to write this letter if I want it to get to Ba Sing Se by the end of the week,” I tell him, nudging his hands off. But I feel guilty when his frown deepens. “I swear I will go to bed early tonight, okay?”
I hear him sigh, as I look for a blank scroll, but he doesn’t try to stop me again knowing that’s the most I’m going to offer, and I hear his robes swish against the floor as he leaves.
My head drops now that he’s gone and I try not to acknowledge the heaviness of my head. I hate having this argument with him, but he doesn’t seem to understand, I need to do this. I’m already eighteen and it shouldn’t be long now before I take over as leader of this city, I just, I have to prove myself and this is the only way I can.
I sigh before straightening my back, grabbing the scroll and ink, and sitting down at my desk to start writing. I can already tell this is going to take a while. Before morning counts as early right?
—--
The day drags from exhaustion, but I refuse to accept that maybe I should have listened to Bumi’s advice. Still, luckily for me it also happens to be a day where I don’t have to go and meet anybody, so at least I can stay in the throne room, maybe even go take a nap if I finish quickly.
I pick up the next letter and it’s odd, just the words ‘Solmi’ and ‘Omashu’ written on it hastily. Curious I pull the letter out but before I can read it the words on the paper start blurring together. I take a moment to put my head in my hand, blinking rapidly to wake my eyes up.
“Wow, I like what you’ve done with the place,” I suddenly hear someone say from behind me.
I go to complain since the palace was rebuilt almost exactly the same way it was before, the only difference being the desk and shelves Bumi insisted on being put in the throne room to make it easier for me to work out of it, but then I look over and actually catch sight of who said it.
I gasp, immediately getting out of my chair to face my unexpected but definitely very welcome guests.
I can tell from Sokka’s smirk that he’s the one who spoke, and I can see Katara and Suki rolling their eyes in a way that tells me he probably planned that the entire way here. Toph is casually leaning against the wall by the door, and Aang is standing next to her, an ever-present smile on his face.
And to my biggest surprise, there standing slightly in front of the others is Zuko, staring at me with his soft smile that instantly makes any tension from the last couple of days feel like it’s melting away.
“Wh… what are you guys doing here?” I stammer, not being able to contain my surprise at seeing them here.
“Don’t we at least get a ‘hello’? My, where did your manners go, Princess?” Toph jokes, and I easily let myself fall into the familiarity of it.
“Hi,” I reply excitedly, before rushing over to pull everyone into an individual hug, even Toph. “And especially hi to you,” I say to Zuko, before leaning up to peck his lips, having to get on my tiptoes to do so, which makes Sokka start to fake gag before Suki smacks his arm.
It’s only then, with all of my friends literally in arms reach of me that I start to comprehend the situation, and my surprise quickly morphs into worry. “But seriously, why are you here? Is something wrong?” I demand looking at them all.
It’s not like I don’t want to be excited, but it’s been months since I’ve seen any of them, and even longer that we’ve all been together in one place, and I think that was the Jasmine Dragon, so I can’t be blamed if the sudden visit has me a little panicked.
And that panic only increases when I see the looks they all share at my questioning.
“Honestly?” Aang asks, and I nod fervently desperate to know what’s going on. “Bumi asked us to come.”
“Bumi did?” I ask now very confused, not being able to think of any reason Uncle would call them all here.
“He’s really worried about you,” Zuko tells me, hands on both of my shoulders as he stands behind me, and at this point, it’s instinctive when I feel myself melt against him, despite the annoyance I can feel growing.
“I told him I was fine,” I groan, throwing my head back to knock against Zuko’s chest
“No, you’re not. You look like a small breeze from Aang could knock you over,” Sokka states bluntly making me finch.
“Sokka,” Katara immediately chides her brother.
“While that might not have been the best way to put it, he’s not wrong Sol,” Suki says from Sokka’s side, making sure to shoot him a glare for his tactlessness.
“I’m just a little tired,” I sigh, head feeling heavy with the admission. I can tell none of them believes me, and despite how annoyed I am at Bumi for bringing them here, just seeing how much they care makes me feel so much better.
“And now what my niece isn’t telling you is that she hasn’t been sleeping in months” Bumi exposes, not ready to let me off with the little white lie and I already instinctively flinch ready for the explosion.
“Months!”
“Bumi!” I scold the old man, but he just snorts knowing I can’t get away with anything now.
"You haven't been sleeping for months?! Don't you remember what happened to me after a couple of days?" Aang cries like anyone could forget those exciting few days.
"You haven't gone crazy as well, have you? Are you seeing things? Does Flopsie talk to you?" Sokka demands rapidly, shaking my shoulders, and if it wasn't for the ridiculousness of the situation I would find his hysteria amusing. "Wait a minute, are we even real right now or is this just part of your imagination?"
Suddenly he is sent flying to the floor as his legs are caught from under him, and I don't even have to look to know who was the cause of that.
"Did that feel real, genius?" Toph mocks from her place leaning on the wall, foot jutted out with a trail on earth heading to Sokka, and I can’t even be mad about the mess because the Water Tribe boy deserved it.
Sokka lets out a squeak of pain which is enough of an answer and Suki decides to take pity on him and get down to help stand him back up.
“Now you have to come and take a break with us,” Aang suggests excitedly.
“But…I still have so much to do today,” I complain, the idea of doing more paperwork even more bothersome knowing my friends are here.
“You can ignore it for today can’t you?” Katara asks, blinking at me as her eyes take on a pleading look, and I can feel a frown settling on my lips.
“Come on, Princess,” Toph provokes, staring at me challengingly. “The city won’t fall apart if you leave it for a day.”
“It might with all of you here,” I joke, shoulders falling as I let myself give in.
The others laugh and give me a couple of minutes to put all my documents in order so I can finish them later.
“See, it’s not that bad to take one day off is it, dear niece?” I hear Bumi’s familair snort and I look up to see him standing in the doorway grinning.
I roll my eyes before shoving the papers in his hands. “I guess you got your wish, you get to deal with the paperwork today.”
“Oh don’t worry, I have my way of dealing,” he laughs maniacally, and I shoot him a warry look but then decide I don’t want to know.
“Come on, let’s go!” Aang yells as I walk back over to join the group and I can’t help the smile that grows at his actions. The younger boy proceeds to create an air scooter and rush out of the room, leaving the rest of us to have to catch up to him, laughing all the way.
We casually stroll around the city and I can’t help the pride I feel seeing the way they all stare in wonder. I hadn’t really thought about it until now, but none of them have spent any real-time in the city since it’s been rebuilt Aang has been by to pick me up on Appa a couple of times, but that’s it.
I can hear Aang and Sokka excitedly telling Toph and Suki about their adventures here, Katara cutting in when they get a bit exaggerated. I find myself a few steps back, happy to keep a slower pace behind them, hand intertwined in Zuko’s as he stays next to me, but he still lets out the occasional laugh being able to heat the other’s loud storytelling.
“Hey, isn’t that the Fire Lord?” Zuko’s hand barely twitches in mine, but it’s enough to let me know he hears the comment. I don’t look, but I can tell it’s coming from a group of women standing in front of a shop to our left.
“I think you’re right. Yeah, that must be him,” one of them replies, I recognise her, she runs a fruit stand.
I guess it shouldn’t be that much of a shock they could recognise Zuko. The firebender had dressed down for the visit, wearing a more casual vest and loose trousers, but the red does still stand out.
“Why do you think he’s here?”
“You know why,” the first woman replies to her friend, and the detest for whatever she’s talking about is clear. “It’s because of her, guess she wants to be around people like her.”
“Then she should get out of here and go to where she belongs,” they all laugh, before quickly covering their mouths, and trying to look busy as I get closer. But I don’t spare them a look, there’s no point.
“Hey, don’t worry about them,” I tell Zuko softly, feeling the way his hand gets tighter in my own the more the women talk. I pull him along to catch up with the others, a smile carefully put on my face to show him I don’t care about what that group has to say, and he shouldn’t either.
“Hey, Solmi, you have to let us ride the mail shoot again,” Aang insists when he sees me. I’m glad to have something to latch onto to be able to convince Zuko everything is fine, so much so I decide to ignore the look Sokka is giving me, realising now that I haven’t actually heard his loud voice since the women began talking.
“Absolutely not, you caused enough destruction last time,” I chide the younger boy, but he doesn’t look put off the idea yet. “I swear Aang, you get on that and I will throw you back with Flopsie and tell him he can hug you as much as he wants.”
We walk around most of the afternoon, checking out building both new and old while I talk to them about plans for the future as well as memories from when I was a child. When Sokka mentions food I decide to take them back to the palace knowing my uncle, and just like I thought he has a feast already laid out for us on a large round table.
Bumi joins us and the evening is filled with fun and laughs, and even some flying chicken just for memory's sake.
But as soon as the meal is done, everyone planning for bed as the moon rises, Bumi turns to face me from his place on my left, I expect something simple like telling me to go to bed early, or a joke about where Zuko will be staying -because I know he has his opinions-, but the way his entire face pulls together is definitely unexpected and I feel my concern build when he stays quiet for a few moments too long.
“What’s going on, Uncle?” I’m hesitant to ask, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Bumi so worried about anything before.
“I found this letter on your desk,” he tells me, pulling an envelope from his sleeve and I instantly remember the hastily written words from this morning before also remembering I never got to read what was inside. But I’m realising now, with the way that Bumi’s watching me with his sad eyes that maybe I should have.
I go to reach for it, but Bumi flinches back almost instinctively, and now I’m even more concerned than I was before. “Bumi?” I question him, and he sighs before slowly handing the letter to me.
I unfold the parchment and let my eyes skim across the words written and I quickly realise why Bumi looked so worried about giving this to me.
“Hello Solmi, this may come as a surprise to you but I am writing this letter to tell you about your mother.
I know it’s been a while and you may be questioning it, but she is alive and I know she would like to see you.
She doesn’t know I’m writing this but I think it would be better for the both of you. But I’ll leave the choice up to you, if you want to meet her, you’ll know where to find us, you already have. -K”
The world around me fades as I stare at the paper, it takes a few tries to even get past the first sentence, that word at the end tripping me up and I have to keep going back to make sure that’s what it really says.
But soon enough I get through the whole letter, the words slowly forming in my mind and once they do everything starts coming back to me and I can feel the looks pointed at me, as well as the way my hands are shaking, clenching the paper tightly in their grips.
“Solm, what is it?” Aang asks once I raise my gaze from the words, and just like I thought everyone is watching me, concern and curiosity thrown throughout their gazes.
“It’s a letter about my mom,” I tell them, calmly, forcing my hands to relax. “Apparently she’s alive and wants to see me.” There’s a silence that hangs, and it’s like everyone is expecting me to react in some kind of way, but whatever it is I don’t feel it, I just focus on folding the letter back up and handing it back to Bumi. “Throw it away.”
“What!” Everyone yells, and now I know they are definitely surprised by my decision at least.
“It’s clearly fake,” I reply, moving to sit in my seat to get up once Bumi has taken the letter from me, but Zuko’s hand on my right arm keeps me in place and I push away the automatic feeling of comfort it brings because it’s not like I need comforting right now.
“Okay, but what if it’s real?” Katara asks from opposite me, and I hold back my sigh at their persistence.
“I don’t care,” I reply is automatic. It’s the same thing I’ve told myself and others so many times before when my mother is brought up.
“Are you sure?” Zuko insists. He glances at me, likely checking to see if I’m telling the truth and his eyes are quick to notice my hands clenching on my lap.
“She didn’t care about leaving me and my dad and running off to who knows where, so I don’t care about what this letter says she wants now,” I tell them firmly, unclenching my hands and putting them on the table to avoid Zuko’s own reaching for them.
“Come on, don’t you think it’s at least worth a shot?” Suki inquires, the first one to immediately speak against my declaration, and everyone else is quick to follow.
I hear the odd words. ‘...never know’, ‘...might end well’, ‘negative jing’.
“I say you find her and give her a piece of your mind,” Toph’s voice jumps out from amongst the jumbled muttering of everyone else.
And it’s too much. I never even wanted to think about meeting that woman let alone talking to her, but now everyone is here and telling me to try, I just can’t think straight right now.
I harshly push my chair back, glad when the screech of it brings a halt to the other's misguided convincing. “I should really finish my work,” I announce to the group before leaving the room, not even taking the chance to look back at the troubled expression I’m sure are watching me go.
I don’t know who it is, or what they do, but somehow something keeps them from following after me which I am extremely grateful for. Because I do not need their thought and opinions on a letter I shouldn’t have read in the first place. Hopefully, if I give it a couple of days they’ll calm down, and I will never have to think of that woman again.
—--
There are a pair of burnt honey staring me down. There’s a hum of a voice in the background, soft, I want to cling to it. But then they change, red burns from within and every second the stare holds on I’m burning too.
I feel a tight grip on my arm, my legs, my shoulders. There’s nothing there but I’m being pulled towards the fire.
I don’t fight it.
I want to, but I also don’t. It’s just so comfortingly warm.
“Sol!”
I jerk awake. I blink my eyes confused, and disorientated after being brought back to reality so quick. But then I sit up and look around, recognising my desk in the throne room. I must have fallen asleep here again, Bumi is not going to be pleased if he hears about it.
Though right now he’s not one to talk since when I got here I found out his way of ‘dealing’ with the paperwork was folding them into paper animals, or so said in his note, but he did leave me a small turtle duck made out of request form as a present.
Still, despite not having any work I didn’t want to go to bed, too many thoughts in my mind, so I decided to get one of the guards to give me the work that would have been delivered in the morning and get a head start. Though I guess I didn't get far before I fell asleep.
I then remember something woke me up. I glance to the side and that’s when I see Zuko looking down at me, eyebrows twisted as he frowns.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” I ask voice still muffled from being asleep.
“I was worried about you so I decided to stay up and wait for you to go to bed,” he tells me, and my half-awake self can’t stop the smile that grows from his concern. “But after a while, I decided to come look for you and I heard noises, that’s what led me here. Are you okay?”
It takes me a moment to realise why he’s asking and then flashes from my dream come rushing back to me. “Yeah, it was a silly dream,” I reassure him, despite the growing ache I can feel in my chest as more parts come back to me the more I think of it. And like always Zuko can see that if his comforting hand on my cheek says anything. “We should go back to bed.”
I feel a yawn creep up on me, the sudden awakening doing nothing to push away just how exhausted I feel, and luckily for me, Zuko doesn’t push. So, I sort out the documents that got messed around in my sleep, and then I let Zuko lead me in the direction of the rooms.
It’s as we approach his guest that I get a sudden idea, and when he goes to pull away I don’t let him, firm grip on his arm as I pull him towards my room instead.
I glance at him, and it takes all I have not to burst out laughing at his terrified look as he looks around like someone is going to pop out this late at night and catch him. A certain someone I’m sure.
“Please, what Uncle doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” I tell him as we enter my room. And even if he did he wouldn’t actually care, he just gets a kick out of scaring Zuko. Still, my words soothe Zuko enough for him to slide into the bed.
And just like I suspected, his presence is enough to drive away any memories of the dream, and I actually do manage to go back to a dreamless sleep.