Fire Ferrets [3] Bolin

Chapter 42

I stand in my room staring at my reflection. I'm wearing long robes with more gold shining among the red than I have ever seen before. My heart thumps rapidly in my chest as I take in my appearance and for a moment I think I might vomit. But it's not out of nerves or anxiety or any stress related emotion. I'm excited for what's to come. For the first time in my entire life, I'm excited for my coronation. I can hear the faint thumps from the drums and roars from the crowds outside the palace, and I know it's almost time.

A knock sounds on my door and I turn to see Master Tenzin slowly walk in. He smiles at me which I return as he moves towards me. The robes he is wearing look a lot smarter than the ones he usually wears.

"Hello, Ulazu, how are you?" He asks. I take a step towards him and let out a soft breath.

"I'm actually okay," I reply.

"I'm glad, though I have to admit, I thought I'd be walking in to you panicking," he says with a soft laugh. I chuckle and sit down on the end of my bed. He sits down next to me.

"I think I would be planning a hundred different ways to run without being seen," I say laughing. "But I'm not scared anymore," I say and I look up to the man.

"You're not?" He questions and I shake my head.

"No, I'm not scared, I know I'm not alone and I don't have to do this by myself," I say.

"I'm proud of you, Ulazu. You've grown so much over these past years. I still remember the time you were worrying about what would happen if your mother found out you were staying in Republic City." It means a lot to me to hear his words. I've always looked up to Tenzin and I have always wanted to be like him, and here he is saying he's proud. It doesn't mean as much as when my mother says she's proud of me, but it's definitely up there.

"Yes," I let out a small laugh, "looking back it seems so silly. I had so many freak outs about everything."

"Maybe so, but you've learnt a lot from them and you've overcome a lot," he says and I nod.

"Master Tenzin, I want to thank you for everything. You've helped me through everything without even batting an eye. It means so much to me," I say. His smile seems to widen causing the corner of his eyes to wrinkle.

"Ulazu, don't thank me. I'm always going to help you if you need me," he replies.

"I'll hold you to that," I chuckle. A soft knock sounds against the door and we both turn to see Bolin standing there. He's wearing a black suit with deep red detail running over the seams. His collar is turned up and I smile at the sight of it.

"Sorry, I can come back," he says. Master Tenzin stands up and walks towards him.

"No, I had better find Pema and make sure the kids are behaving," He says as he pats Bolin's shoulder before leaving us. I stand up and walk to him. I reach up to his collar and sort it out for him and I feel his eyes on me as I fix him up. Once done I dust of his shoulders, moving my hands to his chest before looking up to him.

"You look very handsome," I compliment. He smiles and leans down to give me a quick peck on the lips.

"Who did your hair?" He asks as he looks up, his fingers gently brushing over the plaits on the top of my head.

"Umm, me. It's bad isn't it?" I say and he looks back to my eyes. I know it's not the same standard Bolin manages to achieve, but I really did try. I just don't understand how he does it.

"What? No, it's..." he begins and suddenly I grow self conscious.

"Wait, am I going to look stupid? I can't look stupid," I stress. I draw back and rush to the mirror to see how bad it is.