When Nations Collide (ATLA x OC)

Chapter Eight

If one word could describe Zuko, it would be determination. All of his life, he has been determined to please his father. I remember Ursa and Ozai arguing over Zuko. I didn't eavesdrop on them. Not because I didn't want to, but because a palace guard saw me near their door and escorted me back to Zuko's room.

I only heard his name. My father saw the guards escorting me, and demanded to know what happened. The guards said that I was eavesdropping on Ursa and Ozai, and that my father should keep his half blood away from them.

My father blew up and challenged both to an Agni Kai. They accepted, and my father beat the crap out of them during it. He is a strong firebender, and no one dared to challenge him or speak out against him again. He did it to defend my honor, and him doing that only made my hatred for Ozai to grow.

What my father did for me only showed me that Ozai didn't care for Zuko the way my father cares for me. Everyone else was blind to see Ozai and Ursa's relationship was bad, but I wasn't. I always saw how tense and scared she got when he was near. I would tell Saken, and we would try to talk to Zuko, but he didn't want to talk about it.

My father would tell me about the life he had when he was a child. My grandfather was a farmer, and my grandmother was a noble woman. He would work on the farm during the summer, but they lived where the upper class were, thanks to my grandmother's wealth and family status.

Grandmother was supposed to be married off to some noble man in the colonies, but once she met my grandfather she refused. My grandmother was a strong woman. She knew how to firebend and so did my grandfather. My father always told me that my grandmother was independent. She always liked to achieve things on her own.

My father told me that they weren't too fond of my mother at first. He said it wasn't because she was from the Southern Water Tribe, but because my mother didn't really like the Fire Nation. My mother would disrespect our culture. She spoke out to people of higher ranks, and she especially hated wearing the colors of my people. My grandfather was the first to say something to her, and she refused to listen.

My father told me that it was my grandmother who got through to my mother. He said that my grandmother took them to go get new silverware for their new home they were moving into. He said that my grandmother turned to my mother, and said:

"Kyla, from the moment I saw you I knew you were a good person. But then I saw how you treated my husband and others from my nation, and it changed everything. I never once have disrespected you in any shape or form. I always was open to the fact that you are from the water tribe. I welcomed you with open arms and for what? So you can come into my home, and disrespect everything that I believe in and love? You have to change your perspective on the fire nation. Go and travel around. I know that what is happening is awful and I do not agree with it, but that's just the government. It is not the entire nation. Give us a chance in your heart. Let yourself fall in love with the nation, just as you did with my son."

I have always had a loving and supporting family. I just wish Zuko had the same. He had his mother, and then she disappeared. Now he only has Iroh and I, and I am glad that I can be a part of what he calls family.

~*~

My day starts with someone knocking loudly and obnoxiously. I groan loudly and throw my blankets off me. I walk to the door, and open it. Taejon is grinning widely, and confusion hits me. I let him in, and he has a scroll in his hand.

"Is that from my father?" I ask curiously and reach for it. He pulls it away and lifts it higher, so I can't reach it.

"No. It is actually from your brother." He says casually and I leap into the air. I snatch it out of his hands.