Chapter Text
Fire Lord Zuko is different from his predecessors.
Liu has been serving in the palace for many years, having begun his stewardship under Fire Lord Azulon. He has much experience with how the palace is usually run, and what is expected of its servants.
Fire Lord Zuko is different, and Liu does not think it is only because of his age.
His age is a factor, of course. When he is crowned the new Fire Lord, Zuko is still months away from his seventeenth birthday, and will still be under the age of majority for three years beyond that. But, Liu knows, General Iroh refused the throne, and so it must pass to someone, and Zuko is, after all, the Crown Prince. Liu thinks it is quite a heavy burden for such young shoulders to bear.
The palace had been reeling after the sudden deposition of Crown Princess Azula. She had driven off all of her serving maids, and no one had been willing to go near her. Now, she is gone, taken to a comfortable mental hospital where she can rest. Privately, Liu aches for her. He knows what her father expected of her, and she had been even younger than Fire Lord Zuko. He knows, as well, what her mother thought of her. There are no secrets in a royal palace like this one.
Publicly, though, Liu shows nothing. He cannot afford to slip up. Fire Lord Ozai extracted revenge for the smallest slight, even for things he only thought were real. His personal guard and team of servants had been slowly dwindling over the years, their personnel preferring to disappear silently in the night, escaping to one of the far flung colonies, than to wait until the day the Fire Lord turned his anger on them.
He keeps his face blank through years of practice as the brand new Fire Lord slumps in his chair, back in his office with only Liu to see, and puts his head in his hands.
“Am I doing the right thing?”
For a moment Liu does not realize the Fire Lord is addressing him, until he looks to his face and sees his golden eyes, one narrowed to a slit and surrounded by fire-red skin, focused on Liu himself.
“Your Majesty?”
“Am I doing the right thing, for our nation? I have to fix what is broken, I have to fix what my family did. But I don’t know if I’m doing it right, and I,” the Fire Lord’s voice breaks, just barely, and suddenly Liu’s throat feels tight. “I don’t know if I’m doing what my people need.”
Liu stares into those eyes- like Princess Ursa’s eyes, he realizes, not Ozai’s- for a beat too long, before he remembers himself and drops his gaze.
“Whatever you think is best, Your Majesty, will be the right thing for the nation.”
He can feel Fire Lord Zuko’s gaze on him as he seems to think for a bit.
“Zuko.”
“I- I’m sorry, Your Majesty?”
“Please, call me Zuko. I don’t… you don’t need to address me so formally. May I ask your name, as well?”
Liu blinks for a moment, stunned into momentary silence.
“... Liu, Your… Zuko. My name is Liu.”
“Liu. I am happy to know you.”
“And I you.”
And Liu means it.
Zaila is very young when she begins working in the Royal Palace.
Her mother tried to dissuade her. Zaila remembers her tears as she begged Zaila not to go, terrified at the thought of her daughter under the cruel hand of the Fire Lord.
But Zaila has no choice. She has several younger siblings who need food, and clothing, and warmth. Her two elder brothers are gone, conscripted into the army with the only reward being letters thanking their family for their sacrifice. Her father has been dead for a long time. Zaila must do what she can to help her family, and so she takes a job as a serving girl in the royal palace.
Her first day passes without much excitement, and Zaila makes the mistake of going to sleep that night thinking that maybe the stories of the cruelty of the royal family are exaggerations.
The next day, the Crown Prince is nearly killed by his own father in an Agni Kai, and he is sent away before he wakes.
Zaila sees it happen. She is a silent figure holding a tray, stationed behind the generals who line the dueling platform, and she sees the Crown Prince cry before his father, hears him begging for mercy, for forgiveness. She does not know what he has done, but she doubts it matters. She sees his face, aflame.
The Crown Prince is younger than she is when he is banished. When he returns, and takes the throne for himself, she cries private tears of happiness. She had hoped that he was alright, that he did not die. He reminds her of her younger brother, Lee.
Zaila has risen through the ranks of the serving staff, though this was not hard, since most have fled since Princess Azula drove them away. Now, she is the head of the team of servants who, as part of their duties, bring drinks and small platters of fruit and hand pies into the hall where the various heads of state from around the world are discussing how to best help their respective nations, after the comet.
The Crown Prince - he has yet to be crowned FIre Lord, but he fulfills his duties just as well - sits at the head of the table and not in the throne where his father once lorded over the chamber. He looks up as Zaila and her staff enter, and interrupts an Earth Kingdom general’s rant with “Oh, good, tea!”
The rest of the leaders - with the exception, she notices, of a Water Tribe chief and what looks to be his son - roll their eyes or look otherwise annoyed at the Crown Prince’s rather childish exclamation. But Zaila merely nods to her staff and turns to the nearest Earth Kingdom noble with her tray proffered.
Then, there is a gasp, and the sound of a cup breaking.
Zaila whirls to see Ria, one of the youngest girls on the staff, frozen in horror as she stares down at the broken teacup and the pool of tea that is now seeping into the Crown Prince’s documents and dripping onto his royal robes. The silence rings in Zaila’s ears, broken only by Ria’s increasingly panicked gasps.
“I.. I..” Ria drops to her knees and drops her head in supplication, arms outstretched and palms flat on the floor in front of her.
“I am so sorry, My Lord, please… please forgive me, it was an accident, I did not mean to!”
Zaila takes several steps forward, ready to defend her charge, before the Crown Prince slowly reaches out and grasps Ria by her upper arms, pulling her carefully from her crouch.
“It’s alright.” He says softly, and she raises her trembling head just a bit, eyes wide and fearful. “Please, don’t worry. I know it was an accident. It’s just a cup, it’s okay.”
“But.. but your scrolls, My Lord…” Ria whispers, still unable to look the Crown Prince in the eye.
He shakes his head once, quickly, and the corner of his lips twitch in what could be a smile.
“Unimportant. I’ll copy Sokka’s notes later.”
The Water Tribe boy Zaila noticed earlier makes an indignant squawk- A quick glance tells Zaila that he has not been taking notes at all- and it breaks the heavy blanket of anticipation that had fallen over the table. Zaila sets her tray down between another Water Tribe leader and an earth kingdom official, who have begun muttering amongst themselves, and goes to help the Crown Prince steady Ria on her feet.
“Thank you, My Lord,” Zaila says to him, bowing and making the sign of the flame. “I apologize for the mess.” She looks over at Iko, whose tray was now empty, and raises her eyebrows. Iko nods and runs off to get a towel.
“Thank you,” the Crown Prince returns her bow, and seems to miss several Earth Kingdom nobles’ gasps of shock.
“What’s your name? And yours?” He asks, nodding to Ria too.
“I am Zaila, My Lord. I am the head of the serving staff. This is Ria.”
“Zaila and Ria, thank you for your hard work. I know serving can be difficult.” His lips quirk at this, as if he is laughing internally at a joke only he knows. “Please, don’t worry about the accident. It happens.”
Ria still looks flustered, so Zaila turns to lead her from the hall, and as they go she hears the officials around the table start to speak.
“Crown Prince Zuko, you really shouldn’t—“
“An affront to your honor, to bow to a -“
“Really, I’m surprised the Fire Nation can’t afford better staff-“
“Enough.”
The Crown Prince’s voice is cold enough to freeze the air around them. She stops Ria just as they reach the doors, and they turn to look back.
“I will not be spoken to in such a manner, and neither will my servants. Now,” he says, turning to one of the Water Tribe leaders, “Chief Arnook, what of those trade agreements you spoke of earlier?”
Zaila can’t help but smile as she leads Ria from the meeting hall.
“Wow! Will you teach me to do that too?”
Zuko yelps in surprise and nearly falls out of his kata, quickly extinguishing the flames that roar from his foot. He spins, and sees- a child?
Yes, it’s a child, a little boy, though Zuko has no idea how old. He’s not very good with guessing children’s ages, considering he hasn’t been around many before. The kid is clutching one of the pillars that support the roof above the walkway that surrounds the inner courtyard, staring at Zuko with apparent glee.
“Uh. Where did you come from?”
There aren’t many children who should be inside the palace. Now that he thinks of it, not any. At least, the nobles of court all keep their children home for their education, or send them to finishing schools. The last children who freely roamed the halls, as far as he knows, were himself and Azula.
The little boy doesn’t seem to know any of this, or to care. He beams at Zuko and says “I’m Hiro! My mama works here. My grandma couldn’t watch me today, so she brought me with her.”
“Uh… hi, Hiro?” Zuko glances at the closest guard, standing just outside the courtyard proper at the edge of the walkway, but she’s too professional and doesn't give a sign of having noticed anything amiss. “I’m Zuko.”
“Hi! So will you show me how to do that?”
“How to… are you a firebender?”
“Yeah!” Hiro looks incredibly proud of himself, and he whips a hand out in front of him to show the barest of sparks that shoot from his fist. His little face falls a little bit. “I’m not very good, though.”
Zuko’s chest constricts slightly as he stares at this boy. On the one hand, he doesn’t really have time to spare to teach Hiro much. On the other… he remembers what it felt like, being that young and unsure of his bending.
“How old are you, Hiro?” Zuko asks, as he kneels down and beckons him over. Hiro runs over excitedly and nearly overbalances as he skids to a stop in front of Zuko, but he catches himself.
“I’m almost seven! My birthday is next month.”
“Okay. You probably haven’t been bending for long, right?”
“No, and mama’s afraid I’ll burn the house down so she don’t let me practice much.” Hiro’s pouting now and Zuko can’t stop his smile.
“Well, your mom is right to worry. Fire is beautiful, and strong, but it can be dangerous too. You need to learn how to control it before you can start fighting with it. You could hurt someone, otherwise.”
“Like you got hurt?” Hiro’s big amber eyes are staring right at the left side of Zuko’s face.
Zuko sucks in a breath. He’d forgotten how perceptive kids could be.
“Yes. Like I got hurt.”
Hiro nods. “But you still bend. So it means you’re brave, since you got hurt and you still use your fire. I wanna do that too.”
Zuko nods slowly. He mentally files away that estimation of him for examination later.
“I had to be brave, Hiro. I hope you don’t ever have to be brave the way I did. But I can help you start working on your control, if you want. It’ll take a while until you can do the moves you want, but I promise you will someday.”
Hiro sighs, but nods. Zuko can’t help but grin at the kids’ impatience.
“Okay. First, I want you to go grab as many leaves as you can carry from that bush over there.”
“Hiro? Hiro, where are you?!”
Oh, Agni. Iza had told her son to stay in the servant’s quarters, but when she went to retrieve him for lunch, he was gone. Riyuk wasn’t able to tell her anything about where he’d gone, even when he was supposed to be watching Hiro in the first place.
“Iza?”
Iza whirls around.
“Ta Lin! I can’t find Hiro, I don’t know where he’s gone!”
“Iza, it’s okay!” Ta Lin, her friend, one of the guards on Fire Lord Zuko’s detail, holds her hands out reassuringly. “I know where he is, I came to find you, actually.” Suddenly, Ta Lin smiles, and Iza falters in her panic. “He’s perfectly safe, come on, I’ll take you to him.”
Iza stumbles to a stop just as she and Ta Lin reach the walkways surrounding the innermost, royal-family-exclusive courtyard, horror rising as Ta Lin finishes her explanation, oblivious.
“... so when I came to relieve Hideki from his shift, I saw Hiro, and I went to find you before Hideki left.”
Iza can’t believe what she’s seeing. Hiro is kneeling within the courtyard, clutching a burning leaf in his hands and concentrating as hard as she’s ever seen him do before. But, the person in front of him, patiently talking him through the exercise… it can’t be, but there’s the scar, clear as day…
“Iza?”
“Oh Agni,” she hisses, clutching her apron in her fists, “Oh Agni, Ta Lin, that’s the Fire Lord!”
Her heart is pounding to see her son so close to him. She doesn’t know much about this new ruler, but if he’s anything like the Fire Lords before him, she has to get Hiro out of there, right now.
Fire Lord Zuko looks up, then, and sees her watching him, and… blushes? Hiro looks up, then, too, and the leaf in his hands is suddenly gone in a flash.
“Mama!” he scrambles up and runs to her, and Fire Lord Zuko follows him. She grabs Hiro’s shoulders once he’s close enough and clutches him, trying not to be too obvious about how she wants to shove him behind her, and quickly makes the sign of the flame, bowing. Fire Lord Zuko stops in front of her, one hand rubbing the back of his neck. He looks positively sheepish, and Iza’s frantic thoughts stutter to a stop in confusion.
“Uh, hi,” he says, giving a little grin, and she’s stunned now, staring at him. She had no idea how young he really was until this moment. He looks like a kid who just got caught stealing fire flakes.
“Sorry, I hope you weren’t worried, Hiro saw me running through my morning training and he wanted to learn. I hope that’s okay,” he says, and his eyes go wide. “He’s- he’s good, he’s already getting a hang of his control, and-”
“Yeah, mama!” Hiro looks up at her, grinning, “Did you see my leaf?”
“Yes, baby, I saw,” she says, petting his hair. She looks up at Fire Lord Zuko again, and he must see how confused she looks.
“Really!” he says, and now he sounds a little frantic. “Hiro was good! If he practices, like I taught him, he could probably progress really quickly.”
Iza nods faintly. “I… thank you, Your Majesty, I’m so sorry he interrupted you, I told him not to run off.” She frowns down at Hiro, and he at least has the sense to look a little sheepish.
“Really, it wasn’t a problem.” He grins, “I taught the Avatar, Hiro was nothing compared to how aggravating he could be.”
Iza nods dazedly. She had been expecting him to be furious, and for herself to be fired at the very least. Now the Fire Lord is smiling and sharing jokes about the Avatar with her. Agni, this day was strange.
“Lord Zuko?”
He turns to his advisor, who has come hurrying down the hall.
“Yes, Liu?”
Liu bows and glances at Iza before he says “Lord Zuko, your next meeting with Earth King Kuei’s officials begins in just half an hour. I was sent by your dresser to come and find you.”
“Oh, yes, I probably should, uh, go…” he turns to Iza once more. “I didn’t catch your name?”
She bows again. “Iza, Your Majesty.”
He bows as well and says “Iza, it was an honor to teach Hiro. You know…” he grins down at Hiro, “If you would like, I could probably set some time aside to teach him, maybe once a week? We can’t have him burning your home down.”
“Y- you, Your Majesty? I couldn’t ask you-”
“You’re not, I’m offering. I don’t mind. I kind of miss it. How about Hiro comes back, same time next week?”
“... Alright, if it won’t be too much trouble, Your Majesty. It would be an honor.”
Hiro whoops and starts jumping up and down, and Fire Lord Zuko crouches down in front of him.
“Hiro, you need to practice for me before next week, okay? Remember, not inside or anywhere where you could catch anything on fire by accident. Have your mom or your grandma watch you while you practice, okay?”
Hiro nods frantically. “I promise!”
Fire Lord Zuko grins again, and gets up to follow an impatient Advisor Liu. “See you next week!”
Iza stares after him and turns to look back at Ta Lin, who has hung back as the rest of the guards move to follow after the Fire Lord. She grins and nods at Iza, looking smug.
“I told you he was perfectly safe.”
“Ta Lin,” Iza says, “Ta Lin, did that just happen?”
“Yep,” Ta Lin laughs. “He’s really something else.”
“Yes,” Iza says wonderingly. “He really is, isn’t he?”