We went back to the damaged house of who once was Noriko and Ikem's. The sun had started to rise in the distance. A mother and son had been united. We helped Noren cover a large canvas over the hole in the roof. The doors that had been blown off their hinges were leaned against the wall of the house. Noren started to make breakfast, as Kiyi sat in my lap, dozing off.
Ursa and Zuko were standing near us, speaking quietly. They headed down towards the other side of the house to talk more. The entire morning, heart felt ten times as lighter, knowing that Ursa was alive and well and we were able to see her again.
~~~ Zuko ~~~
My mother and I stood together, for a few moments in silence, before she spoke.
"Zuko, what I said to Azula," She said, "I owe you that same apology. I'm sorry I didn't love you enough."
"Don't say that." I said, shaking my head.
"But it's true." My mother insisted. "I... I forgot you. What kind of mother forgets her son?"
"Things turned out okay." I said, trying to reassure her. "I've got some good friends now, and a life I can be proud of."
"And a crown on your head!" Mother said, cracking a smile, "You look so handsome, Zuko. I may not have a right to be, but I'm proud of you, too."
"I know I'm the Fire Lord because it's my destiny." I said, reaching into my robes and pulling out the letter, "Even so, mother, I need to know about this." Mother took the letter and read through it, her eyes widened in surprise.
"What I wrote..." She said, "Isn't true."
My mother explained, that she had wrote that I was Ikem's son, to spite my father and to perhaps hurt him. But it only gave him fuel to treat me even worse.
"Ozai is a wretched man." Mother said, "To treat you like that just to get back at me, especially when you were so young-"
"But he's still my father." I said.
"Yes." Mother said. She looked at me for a few seconds and placed an arm on my shoulder. "Tell me what you're feeling Zuko."
"I feel..." I said, "I feel like things are the way they're meant to be." My mother nodded.
"There's so much I want to tell you." She said, "About your father, about Ikem, about my life here in Hira'a. My marriage to Ozai was just so... so..." I cut her off,
"Wait. I want to know everything. From the beginning."
"Everything?" My mother repeated.
"Everything." I replied. My mother smiled and nodded.
"For you, my dear, I'll start from the beginning."
We talked for a long time, and I learned so much about my mother's past. The sun was starting to set as my mother glanced back at the others.
"Kira has grown so much." She said, smiling.
"Yea, I guess she has." I said, reddening a little bit. My mother replied,
"I'm sure she'd be a wonderful partner for you." I coughed loudly as she laughed.
"Uh, w-what?"
"You had only eyes for her, the whole time we were walking back here."
"That's because she had been crying!"
"Of course my dear, I shouldn't have accused you." My mother had a teasing smile on her lips as I stood up hastily,
YOU ARE READING
The Eternal Flame (ATLA) (FIRST PERSON POV)
Fanfiction"I don't want Ozai to die. I just want him to face the cruelty he's thrown the world and suffer, just like the world has. And death doesn't seem like an equivalent exchange." Kira is a Dragon Child, a child born with a spirit of a Dragon within her...
