Chapter 3 - house guest
Submitted April 18, 2007 Updated May 27, 2007 Status Incomplete | The upper aristocracy of the Fire Nation isn't something you live with, it’s something you survive. It soon becomes necessary to learn what you can with out letting any one know what you know, and occasionally, tiptoe around those who wish to rule.
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Chapter 3 - house guest
Chapter 3 - house guest
III
The play was nothing short of wonderful. And to my surprise Zuko and Azula were also there. We were instantly invited to join the family in their private box, my mother having been a onetime society friend of the Lady Ursa and the two women wishing to catch up. There was very little talking during the performance but afterwards it was learned that the Prince and his wife were planning on a trip for their anniversary. My parents immediately volunteered to take in Zuko and Azula for the four days there parents would be gone. Though I am now no longer sure how much of an act of kindness it was. It seems to me now that Lord Ozai left little room for argument.
The play itself was The Tail of Ryo one of the Fire nation's most beloved Lords. As a youth he had been terribly beaten and then banished by his evil Uncle who wanted the thrown himself. Ryo had traveled the world learning to fight from the various nations, battling various viscous beasts, escaping from bandits, and saving his love Kei from a dangerous Earth bender. Ryo eventually made his way back to the Fire Nation and overthrew his Uncle where he then liberated his people form something very like slavery and held the land in peace for the rest of his sixty year reign. It was a beautiful story and beloved by many of the Fire Nation people. It never occurred to me that the Theater had taken a risk in performing it. With the current war anything that portrayed the other nations in a favorable light was frowned upon. In later years the play would be banned altogether.
Afterward plans were made for the Prince's children to join us in two weeks. My family headed home and Mother immediately began preparations for our house guests.
Our house guests arrived early in the morning soon after our family had finished breakfast. Their mother dropped them off and with a hasty word of thanks and apologies for not being able to stay and talk, they were already late, she returned to the carriage with her husband and drove off. As both my brothers now had homes of their own Zuko and Azula were very quickly settled in their old rooms. My mother had gone to great lengths to make both rooms more comfortable for out guests, though Tao's room was left virtually untouched, Zuko having already voiced his interest in learning to fight and Tao having a remarkable collection of swords displayed on his wall. Tao to my mother's great frustration, refused to move all of his junk into his own home as he was always either on the battle field or at our house. Jung's room had been emptied long since of everything except the furniture and in order to accommodate Azula My mother had moved any sort of decoration she thought Azula might like into the room. The room was perfectly suited to my mother's taste and would probably have made most women quite comfortable, but the result of the redecoration made the entire thing look quite girly, even if it was in a very classic stile. I noted Azula's immediate frown the moment she entered the room, though she said absolutely nothing. She was for some reason unwilling to insult her hosts. One or the other of her parents must have spoken to her about being polite. Azula would have to put up with the decorations for the two weeks she was with us.
She did however find a solution very quickly. Spend as little time in the room as possible. While Zuko was perfectly willing to stand around and marvel at Tao's sword collection Azula very quickly dragged both of us down the hall demanding a tour of the house. My mother had some business to attend to and we were left to amuse our selves until lunch. Although unwilling to spend the day taking orders from Azula, I was more then willing to show off our house. My mother had excellent taste, and my father could afford a certain amount of luxury, though nether was ever in excess or gaudy. In my opinion my family had the best house in the world.
I naturally started the tour on the ground floor, showing them the small yard that surrounded three of the four sides of the house, the practice yard in back that had originally been built for Father's morning routine, though it had been later been converted to an arena for Tao's enjoyment. From their we went through the kitchen, dining area, and servants quarters, as well as the front parlor and father's library. Upstairs were the bedrooms of course and mother's private lounge. I have already said that I thought the house wonderful, and Zuko seemed to like it well enough, but Azula made no secret of the fact that she was quite thoroughly board. At least she was until she found the stairs that lead to the attic.
"What's up there?"
"Nothing but a bunch of old junk and boxes." I answered. In truth I really had no idea what was up there and I really didnt care, but Azula headed straight for the stairs not giving any one else a chance to suggest something else. Zuko gave me a questioning glance, but I just shrugged and followed Azula.
When we reached the top I was a little surprised to find that Azula had already emptied one of the boxes on the floor. I was a little nervous of her actions. No one ever went up here, and Mother had never said I could either, but Azula was already sorting through a pile of old clothing and laughing at what she found. As long as she didn't ruin anything I figured it would be ok.
"Look at this Zuzu." Azula said holding up a rather small set of armored shoulder pads, "They almost look like they would fit you!"
"I've told you a hundred times not to call me that!" Zuko muttered moving past me to take them from her. He didn't really sound angry, and I was grateful they hadn't started arguing again.
We spent several hours going through the boxes and sorting what we found. It was much easier to keep track of what wed been through if we kept all the similar items together. Cloths in one pile, papers in another. I even found a book Father had been searching for. True everything was still scattered all over the floor, but it was so interesting to see what sorts of things my parents had kept that I no longer cared. The boxes them selves were made of various kinds of wood. Some painted some carved, and some just plain.
The three of us soon acquired an odd assortment of items that made us look like a troop of ragtag, players. Zuko had found a helmet to mach the shoulder pads and well as an empty scabbard that he very quickly buckled around his waist. I though that they might have belonged to Tao at one point. Azula found a crazy hat and placed in immediately on my head, claiming that it looked good on me. Zuko tried not to laugh so I knew she'd been lying, but I kept it on because I'd found a painted miniature of mother wearing the same hat while she held a baby Jung in her lap. Azula had also found a filmy scarf of superb quality that she draped around her neck.
So absorbed were we in the boxes that none of use noticed how late it was until we heard footsteps on the stairs and Tao appeared.
"Here you are! I wondered . . ." he looked around. "What on earth ever possessed you to come up here?"
"Mom won't be mad will she?" I asked a bit uncertain.
"Are you kidding? She"s been meaning to go through these boxes for years. You kid's have just saved her quite a bit of trouble. Come on let's put this stuff back and then go down to lunch." As he said this Tao picked up a pile of cloths and placed them in an empty trunk. "Zuko, Azula, if you'd like your father has asked me to help you keep up with your lessons, since I'm teaching Lien anyway. If you like we can start after lunch."
"Well it's nice to know I'll have something to do while I"m here." Azula responded. Zuko didn't look too happy.
The play was nothing short of wonderful. And to my surprise Zuko and Azula were also there. We were instantly invited to join the family in their private box, my mother having been a onetime society friend of the Lady Ursa and the two women wishing to catch up. There was very little talking during the performance but afterwards it was learned that the Prince and his wife were planning on a trip for their anniversary. My parents immediately volunteered to take in Zuko and Azula for the four days there parents would be gone. Though I am now no longer sure how much of an act of kindness it was. It seems to me now that Lord Ozai left little room for argument.
The play itself was The Tail of Ryo one of the Fire nation's most beloved Lords. As a youth he had been terribly beaten and then banished by his evil Uncle who wanted the thrown himself. Ryo had traveled the world learning to fight from the various nations, battling various viscous beasts, escaping from bandits, and saving his love Kei from a dangerous Earth bender. Ryo eventually made his way back to the Fire Nation and overthrew his Uncle where he then liberated his people form something very like slavery and held the land in peace for the rest of his sixty year reign. It was a beautiful story and beloved by many of the Fire Nation people. It never occurred to me that the Theater had taken a risk in performing it. With the current war anything that portrayed the other nations in a favorable light was frowned upon. In later years the play would be banned altogether.
Afterward plans were made for the Prince's children to join us in two weeks. My family headed home and Mother immediately began preparations for our house guests.
Our house guests arrived early in the morning soon after our family had finished breakfast. Their mother dropped them off and with a hasty word of thanks and apologies for not being able to stay and talk, they were already late, she returned to the carriage with her husband and drove off. As both my brothers now had homes of their own Zuko and Azula were very quickly settled in their old rooms. My mother had gone to great lengths to make both rooms more comfortable for out guests, though Tao's room was left virtually untouched, Zuko having already voiced his interest in learning to fight and Tao having a remarkable collection of swords displayed on his wall. Tao to my mother's great frustration, refused to move all of his junk into his own home as he was always either on the battle field or at our house. Jung's room had been emptied long since of everything except the furniture and in order to accommodate Azula My mother had moved any sort of decoration she thought Azula might like into the room. The room was perfectly suited to my mother's taste and would probably have made most women quite comfortable, but the result of the redecoration made the entire thing look quite girly, even if it was in a very classic stile. I noted Azula's immediate frown the moment she entered the room, though she said absolutely nothing. She was for some reason unwilling to insult her hosts. One or the other of her parents must have spoken to her about being polite. Azula would have to put up with the decorations for the two weeks she was with us.
She did however find a solution very quickly. Spend as little time in the room as possible. While Zuko was perfectly willing to stand around and marvel at Tao's sword collection Azula very quickly dragged both of us down the hall demanding a tour of the house. My mother had some business to attend to and we were left to amuse our selves until lunch. Although unwilling to spend the day taking orders from Azula, I was more then willing to show off our house. My mother had excellent taste, and my father could afford a certain amount of luxury, though nether was ever in excess or gaudy. In my opinion my family had the best house in the world.
I naturally started the tour on the ground floor, showing them the small yard that surrounded three of the four sides of the house, the practice yard in back that had originally been built for Father's morning routine, though it had been later been converted to an arena for Tao's enjoyment. From their we went through the kitchen, dining area, and servants quarters, as well as the front parlor and father's library. Upstairs were the bedrooms of course and mother's private lounge. I have already said that I thought the house wonderful, and Zuko seemed to like it well enough, but Azula made no secret of the fact that she was quite thoroughly board. At least she was until she found the stairs that lead to the attic.
"What's up there?"
"Nothing but a bunch of old junk and boxes." I answered. In truth I really had no idea what was up there and I really didnt care, but Azula headed straight for the stairs not giving any one else a chance to suggest something else. Zuko gave me a questioning glance, but I just shrugged and followed Azula.
When we reached the top I was a little surprised to find that Azula had already emptied one of the boxes on the floor. I was a little nervous of her actions. No one ever went up here, and Mother had never said I could either, but Azula was already sorting through a pile of old clothing and laughing at what she found. As long as she didn't ruin anything I figured it would be ok.
"Look at this Zuzu." Azula said holding up a rather small set of armored shoulder pads, "They almost look like they would fit you!"
"I've told you a hundred times not to call me that!" Zuko muttered moving past me to take them from her. He didn't really sound angry, and I was grateful they hadn't started arguing again.
We spent several hours going through the boxes and sorting what we found. It was much easier to keep track of what wed been through if we kept all the similar items together. Cloths in one pile, papers in another. I even found a book Father had been searching for. True everything was still scattered all over the floor, but it was so interesting to see what sorts of things my parents had kept that I no longer cared. The boxes them selves were made of various kinds of wood. Some painted some carved, and some just plain.
The three of us soon acquired an odd assortment of items that made us look like a troop of ragtag, players. Zuko had found a helmet to mach the shoulder pads and well as an empty scabbard that he very quickly buckled around his waist. I though that they might have belonged to Tao at one point. Azula found a crazy hat and placed in immediately on my head, claiming that it looked good on me. Zuko tried not to laugh so I knew she'd been lying, but I kept it on because I'd found a painted miniature of mother wearing the same hat while she held a baby Jung in her lap. Azula had also found a filmy scarf of superb quality that she draped around her neck.
So absorbed were we in the boxes that none of use noticed how late it was until we heard footsteps on the stairs and Tao appeared.
"Here you are! I wondered . . ." he looked around. "What on earth ever possessed you to come up here?"
"Mom won't be mad will she?" I asked a bit uncertain.
"Are you kidding? She"s been meaning to go through these boxes for years. You kid's have just saved her quite a bit of trouble. Come on let's put this stuff back and then go down to lunch." As he said this Tao picked up a pile of cloths and placed them in an empty trunk. "Zuko, Azula, if you'd like your father has asked me to help you keep up with your lessons, since I'm teaching Lien anyway. If you like we can start after lunch."
"Well it's nice to know I'll have something to do while I"m here." Azula responded. Zuko didn't look too happy.
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