Flying Bisons [2] Bolin

Chapter 51

Yin guides us to a small table and we sit around it. Bolin sits next to me as he places the box on the table. Yin sits opposite us and opens the box. She pulls out a pile of newspaper clippings and my eyes widen when I see how many she has collected. I can feel Bolin's eyes on me as I stare at the pile in shock, but like me, he doesn't say anything. I know Bolin warned me about his grandmother's love for royals the day he told me that he'd met them, but this is kind of overwhelming. It's like she's been tracking my entire life and I'm not sure how to feel about it. I mean, some of these photos aren't from fond memories. I don't even know how she managed to get Fire Nation newspapers whilst living in Ba Sing Se.

"I have been collecting these for a long time. Each one is a reason why you're going to be a truly worthy Fire Lord." Yin says as she spreads out the articles across the table. I look at each photo seeing different stages of my life and I can't help but feel slightly confused.

"How are all of these reasons?" I ask as I reach over to the articles. I look at the photos near me to see me at different ages and in different places. The only thing that remains the same is my uncomfortable look.

"Each article is about how you've helped people and how you have made a difference." Yin starts to explain. I pick up one of the articles and I look down at it to see me standing next to my brother and grandfather. I was 6 I think when this was taken and my grandfather had taken me and Iroh to a small village's festival. I can remember the music and laughter I heard that night, and it's when I look at my loose hanging hair I remember what happened that night.

"That article was written after you gave your royal headpiece to a family living in poverty." Yin says and I nod remembering how annoyed my grandfather was after I did that. "You then gave the village mayor your bracelets to help them afford to clean up some new farm land." She continues. I keep my eyes on the photo and bite my lip nervously.

"I gave it to that woman because I thought that I wouldn't have to be a Princess anymore if I gave the headpiece away." I admit.

"It's a good thing it doesn't work like that otherwise everything you've accomplished as the Fire Nation Princess would never have happened." Yin says with a small laugh as she moves onto the next article. I continue to stare down at the photo in my hand and I can't help but feel saddened. If only it did work like that. It would have allowed me to live a normal life. It would have freed me from this pressure I have on me now.

"Oh, and this was when you and Lord Zuko set your plan in motion to help and support those in poverty." Yin says excitably as she looks through each piece of paper. I mean, it was really my grandfather's plan, I just helped a little bit. "Oh, here's you when your mother announced that you will be the next Fire Lord. And here is when you freed the innocent non-benders from Tarrlok." Yin carries on. I don't follow her excitement from one article to another, instead my attention is focused on one article that has been pushed in front of me by accident. I feel tears start to burn in my eyes and I don't make any motion to stop it.

"Grandma, I don't know if Ula wants to look at these." I faintly hear Bo say from beside me, but all sounds have become muffled noise. I slowly reach for the picture that's stolen my attention and that's when I feel a large tear fall. My thumb gently strokes the picture of my father and all the emotions I've suppressed after his death years ago come back.

Next to my smiling father is me when I was 8 years old. I remember the day this photo was taken. He had taken me to one of his meetings with the general of the Fire Nation fleet. I can't remember who was general at the time, but he was close friends with my father. I remember I begged my father to let me come because I wanted to ask the general to stop patrolling because I was worried that they'd scare the other nations away. Looking back it was a silly thing to ask and I'm not sure why I was bothered about how the Fire Nation looked to other nations at that age. But I remember always wanting my mother to invite the other nations to the Fire Nation for parties and celebrations. My father always said that it was good for me to want to strengthen the Fire Nation's relationships with the other nations, though my mother would simply reply that what I wanted was unrealistic. She was right and I should have listened to her, but my father would always convince me to follow what I believed in.