The Flames of the past (Avatar: Zuko love story)

Chapter 8: The King of Omashu

Mia's face was all swollen the next morning. She cried all night, even in her sleep.
"I hate him!" Sokka said angrily, "how can he even say that about you?"
Mia shrugged hopeless and she took a nip of her tea. "Where are we going Aang?" Katara asked, to break the ice.
"Omashu!" Aang said with a smile. "No,no, no we cannot!" Mia said quickly and she dropped the tea, which landed on Sokka's lap. "MIA!!!" He yelled and quickly she froze the tea.

"Why not?" Aang asked. Mia frowned. "Well..." Mia started, "I-I haven't seen my family in a while..." She swallowed, "I don't know if I can do that right now." The three raised their eyebrows. "Really?"
Mia nodded and she sighed. "I ran away when I was 11. I did not like it here, I was born in Ba Sing Se.. we left when I was 4 and travelled the world, we got here when I was 8."
"But why did you went to the Fire Nation?!" Sokka asked, while putting his pants off.
"I don't know..." Mia said, "it was quite thrilling. Until I went to the orphin house."
Mia thought about it. "But then I became friends with Zuko, and after that I never wrote my parents and my brothers and sisters."
"That's tough." Aang said quietly.

Appa landed on the ground and the four walked up the hill and behind that, a huge city lied there. "Look! The great city of the Earth Nation: Omashu!" Aang said, "I used to always come to visit my friend Bumi."
"Wow..." Katara said amazed, "we don't have cities like this in the South Pole."
'They have building here that don't melt." Sokka said, "Nor watch towers." Mia said with a smirk.

"Well, let's go slow pokes! The real fun is inside the city." Aang said excited. "Aang wait..."Mia started, "it could be dangerous if people find out you're the Avatar. Spies are everywhere."
"You need a disguise."Sokka suggested. "So what am I supposed to do? Grow a mustache?" Aang said spotting. Mia and Katara looked to eachother and smiled.

"Ohhh this is so itchy! How do you live in this stuff?" Aang complained, looking to Appa.
"You look ridiculous, you look exactly like my grandfather." Sokka said.
"Technically Aang is 112 years old." Mia said with her arms crossed.
Aang bend his back and leaned on his stick saying with an old man voice: "Now let's get to skippin, young whippersnappers! The big city awaits."
Mia frowned and the four made their way.

"The people here in this city are the kindest of the world!" Aang said when they almost reached the front door.
"Rotten cabbages?! What kind of slum do you think this is?!" A guard yelled to a farmer and with some earthbending he lifted up the car, and it felt down into the valley. "Nooo! My cabbages!" The man yelled.
"Aww, I remember him!" Mia said with a little smile.

"Just keep smiling..." Aang said and he walked to the main guard. "What is your business here?!" He gaurd yelled.
Angrily Aang walked up to the man twice his size and pointed to him. "My business is my business, young man, and none of yours!" Aang yelled, "I've got half a mind to bend you over my knee and paddle your backside."

"Settle down, old timer. Just tell me who you are." The guard said more friendlier.
"Name's Bonzu Pipinpadaloxicopolis, the Third, and these are my grandchildren." Aang said. Mia tried to hid her laugh but instead she strated to cough and walked up to the man. "Hello there! Amy Pipinpadaloxicopolis. Nice to meet you sir!" Mia said friendly.
"You seem like a responsible young lady." The man said, pointing to Mia, "keep your grandfather out of trouble. Enjoy Omashu!"
"We will sir, thank you!' Mia said and they opened the gate.

When they entered, Mia got lots of memories. The city was enourmous. It was built all the way up, and slides rushed through the city, the way to get supplies up and down. "The Omashu delivery system." Mia said with a little smile. "Oh what I and my friend Bumi did there..."

"Aang are you sure this is a good idea?" Katara asked when they sat in one of the carts.
"Yes! One ride, and then we will go to the North Pole!" Aang said.
Mia put Aoi in her coat, so only his little head popped out of it.
"Aang it sounds fun, but now that I am here," Katara said when she looked down, "I have some second thooooooooughts!!!" And they rushed down the slide. It got really, really fast and even Mia's stomach started to twist. Suddenly, Aang made a slightly movement to the left, that ended up lading off the slide, on a roof, above the one man's cabbages. "MY CABBAGES!" He yelled, "you are going to pay for that!"

The four got brought to the King's throne room and they got thrown in front of them. "My King," the guard started, "what punishment will you lay upon them?"
"OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!" The cabbage men yelled.
"Throw them...." The king started and the four looked hopefully up, "a feast!"
The cabbageman cried.

When the four sat at the dining table, they did not eat. They were still amazed about the King's reaction. "The people in my city have gotten fat from too many feasts," Bumi said, "so I hope you like your chicken with no skin."
"Thanks..." Mia said, 'but I don't eat meat." She lied.
"how about you?" Bumi said and he walked to Sokka, "I bet you like meat," and he put the chicken leg in his mouth.
"Is it just me, or is this guy's crown a little crooked?" Katara asked Mia and Mia nodded heavily.

"So tell me young bald one, where are you from?" The king asked when he sat down at the other side of the table.
"I am from Kangeroo island!" Aang said witha big smile.
"Oh, Kangeroo island, eh? I hear that place is really hoppin!" The king replied grinning.

The four looked at him, like he was mad but Mia and Sokka got it and started to laugh. Suddenly a chicken leg flew toAang's head and with airbending he caught it. Everyone shocked. "Ha! There's an airbender inour presence and not just any airbender, the Avatar!" The king said. Aang immediately dropped the chicken legand got red.
"Now... What do you have ti say for yourself, Mr. Pipinpadaloxicopolis?"
"Okay! You caught me! I am the Avatar, doing my Avatar thing, keeping the world safe..." Aang said and the four walked quietly to the exit.

"No! The Avatar's gotta face three deadly challenges tomorrow, if he survives, then you can leave!" Bumi said with a smirk. "Take them to their chambers!" He yelled and the four got brought away. The door was made of earth, and when they entered it looked amazing. "These are the prison cells?" Sokka asked confused. Mia shrugged and stood in front of the door and made some movements. "I cannot open it! They must have a some kind of trick." Mia sighed. "Well, there must be a way out." Katara said, looking around. "The Air vents!" Aang said excited. "If you think we could fit in there, you area s mad as that king." Sokka said. "We can't... But Momo can!" Aang replied.

Momo did not fit so they decided to wait for tomorrow.
Mia, Katara and Sokka waited all day long, until Aang finally came back. It appeared that was King bumi, who led him do all the tests. "We are going to pack, Mia." Katara said. Mia nodded and sighed. "I have one last thing to, I will be right back" she replied and the three nodded.

Mia walked through the familiar streets of Omashu. She passed her school, the bakery, and the tea shop. Right around that corner was her house, but she shocked when she saw it. The whole building was burned off. She could not help itand she entered. Everything was gone, only a few stuff were there. A teddy bear from one of her siblings, some clothes and a necklace with the sign of the fire nation on it, which was from her mother. She only took the necklace, and when she turned around, a manstood behind her.

"Sir Chung?" She asked.
"Mia? What are you doing here?" He asked amazed, "we thought you were dead."
"I am not... What happened here?" She asked carefully. He laid an hand on her shoulder and squeezed a bit. "The Fire nation..." he said quietly, "your family is gone..."