The Only Hope

The Epilogue: Part 5

Now

"I was then rolled up to him, and he looked down at the child in my arms. Looking up from the new born baby I smiled and said 'Tenzin, meet Tenzin'. He looked at me at that point, shocked, but honored; we hugged and that was when he started to cry. Not that I wasn't either. So that is how Tenzin got his name." The small group of children ranging from toddlers to preteenagers looked at Zabri; some taken totally by the story, while others sleep and the eldest seemed bored.

"Grandmother, what are you doing?" Zabri turned, and looked at her full grown, grandchild. "I'm just telling the children stories- I just told them of the first time Tenzin met your father and found out he was named after him." Her granddaughter smiled at her grandmother, grabbing the handles of her wheelchair. "Well it's time for the children to go eat lunch and Jinora asked me to come and get you. The boat is waiting to take you into the City."

"Very well, very well. Are all my things already gathered?" She looked up at the first of seven grandchildren, as the children said their good bye and rushed off to go eat. Her granddaughter pushed her from the court yard towards the boarding dock, and looked down. "Yes grandmother, just as you asked."

"Good."

Once on the boat, making her way back into Republic City, Zabri searched through the few boxes she had brought with her. Inside were an array of scrap books, all filled with her memories. She took the quite time on the boat with her dear friend as a time to give everything one final farewell before handing them off forever.

She slowly flipped through each page of each book, her winkles lapsing over each other as she smiled. There were photos, cut outs from newspapers, dried flowers pasted on, and even a gold coin all spaced through the pages. It was all in order by date, as to not confuse anyone.

The few things she had of her childhood- Maia, her mother and even her gang time days- with her many mug shots plastered over a span of two whole pages. Then there was her teen hood, paper clips of the battles and rebuilding of her City, and even Kwon- what little she hadn't destroyed; and every photo from her nine-month vacation. She had felt that she needed to put both Kwon and Dazen in the books. They had been a part of her, and thus were part of her history. That was the end of the first book.

The second book was one of her favorites- it started out with the newspaper clipping announcing her engagement to Bolin and below it were a few photos from their wedding. Life changed greatly after that, she was instantly a wife and mother once more. Not that she hadn't loved Opal's son, she treated him no different than the children she and Bolin had together- two sons, Tenzin and Zuko and one daughter Zaria who was their youngest. Amazingly, while Opal's son was an earth bender, both Tenzin and Zuko were non-benders. Zaria was their only child to be a bender, an air bender. Tenzin and Zuko both married Fire benders, each giving birth two children. Zaria married a fellow air bender she had met in school and they had three children. Amazingly Zabri had lived long enough to see her grandchildren grow and have children of their own. Not only did she witness her own children, but those of Tenzin's tree sprout and grow.

Loosing Tenzin shortly after her second son's birth had been hard, and she had mourned for his death for months. It was also after her second son she fully lost the ability to move her legs. The pressure of three pregnancies and births had been too much stress on her weak muscles. When Zaria's birth came she was put to sleep, they cut the child from her and when she woke she was a mother to her first daughter. It had been worth it, and she swears she would do it again- because each child was wanted and loved.

As for her royal duty, she ruled as Fire Lord until her sixtieth birthday when she passed it down to Tenzin- who was thirty two. She was a beloved leader, always putting her people first, and her son was welcomed with open arms. He was now too, a beloved leader, who retired just a few months prior to her current trip. He passed the title down to the eldest of his two daughters.