The Pirate Empress

15.5

A/N

Okay, so the last one had exactly 2222 words and I was at the end of a section, and honestly, I'm weird and like things being even like that so I was pretty much like "Yep, about 10X longer than any other chapter as it is, we're doing halves on this one."

Anyways, here's the next bit of Su's memories:

-

"'Zula!" I screamed, poking my head outside. "It's time for lunch!"

"Aww!" came the three-year-old's voice. "A little more?"

"No, Aunt Shi is going to eat all of your food if you don't come!" Shi yelled over my shoulder.

A small squeak was heard and she ran from behind a tree. "Don't touch my egg rolls!" she screamed.

"Why ever not?" Shi asked.

"'Cause I'm a princess and princesses can put people in jail for eating their egg rolls!" Azula scolded her 'Aunt,' arms crossed and a pout on her lip. "And if I have any less than three you're swimming with the sharks, Missy!"

Shi nodded. "Fair enough. Go count your egg rolls, I didn't eat them."

Zula squinted and walked past us, leaving me to swat Shi's arm.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"The sass that just came out of that girl's mouth. I told you to keep your pirates in line around her!"

"You have no proof that my crew said those things."

"Nobody says 'swimming with the sharks' in the palace," I said.

Shi hesitated. "Zari was a pirate."

"Zari is under strict orders by his wife to not even say the word 'dumb' near our children. And he actually listens to me, thank you very much."

Shi laughed. "Orders by way of wife. Something similar happened with his parents, though Wen would never admit it..." she trailed off.

"Lunch," I reminded her gently. "Azula may eat your egg rolls if you don't watch out."

"Yeah." Shi smiled again. "You need any help getting up the stairs?"

"I can walk up a goddamn staircase no matter how pregnant I am."

-

It was only three days later that my third child and second daughter was born.

"Is it a boy?" A now four-year-old Sokka asked, poking his head into the room eagerly.

"Another sister, bud," Zari said. Azula squealed.

"Now I get to play Pai Shao with her!"

"She won't be able to play Pai Shao for a few years yet," I laughed. "Babies don't really do much."

"Aww." she pouted again. "Can I hold her, at least?"

"Sure," I said, and patted a spot next to me on the bed.

"No, I get to! I'm older!"

"What does being older have to do with it?" Zari asked.

"I'll be Firelord before her."

"No, Iroh would be Firelord, then Thi Na, then you," I said. "Besides, Zula asked first. The early bird gets the worm."

"I thought you said it was a girl!" Zula said from next to me. "I don't want a worm sister!"

I cracked up, leaning into Zari.

"It's an expression," Zari said, laughter in his own voice. "It means whoever comes first gets it first."