update lol
Chapter Two!
A week after Sokka’s wedding, Zuko had sufficiently thawed. Mai, however, remained cold. All his gifts and flowers had been sent back, a stuffed armadillo bear he had won her two years ago mysteriously missing its head. He wrote a long, heartfelt letter, containing a sonnet he only partly plagiarized from the court poet, pleading, apologizing, regretting . . .
It began:
Dear Mai,
Then, he scratched that out and wrote, Dearest Mai,
Then, he crumbled up the parchment and started afresh.
Mai, it began simply.
Mai,
I love you and a piece of my heart will always belong to you. However, I have inherited the terrible burden of rebuilding this country. . .
Zuko and tapped his chin with the end of his brush. He dipped it in ink and continued.
A burden you should not have to bear. If I had a choice, things would not be this way, but the other nations have made it clear. . .
The other nations had made it clear . . .
Zuko sighed, and put down his brush in order to rub his temples. Since he had taken the throne six years ago, his life had been nothing short of a nightmare. The Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom had been quick with their terms of surrender. Quick and unreasonable. Thankfully, Aang had been there in order to talk the nations out of their more vindictive demands that would have left the Fire Nation in poverty and left its dignity in shreds. However, on some things they had been unyielding
.
He picked up the brush again.
The other nations have made it clear that I cannot marry within the Fire Nation.
He remembered when Mai had first found out. She had laughed because she thought it was a joke. Then, she had laughed because of how the other nations would react when Zuko told them he wasn’t going to do that. Then, she had stared at him stonily, when she found out that he would do no such thing.
Looking back, Zuko realized he had not handled the situation well. For instance, when he said that he could reinstate polygamy and make her his concubine . . . Yes, that had not gone over well.
His letter went on. Zuko imagined himself tearing open his heart and let it bleed all over the page. It hurt, writing that letter, it really did. He wasn’t sure how many times he assured her he loved her. In the end, he signed,
Love, Zuko
And gave it to a servant. He would never know if she had read it.
A week after Sokka’s wedding, Zuko had sufficiently thawed. Mai, however, remained cold. All his gifts and flowers had been sent back, a stuffed armadillo bear he had won her two years ago mysteriously missing its head. He wrote a long, heartfelt letter, containing a sonnet he only partly plagiarized from the court poet, pleading, apologizing, regretting . . .
It began:
Dear Mai,
Then, he scratched that out and wrote, Dearest Mai,
Then, he crumbled up the parchment and started afresh.
Mai, it began simply.
Mai,
I love you and a piece of my heart will always belong to you. However, I have inherited the terrible burden of rebuilding this country. . .
Zuko and tapped his chin with the end of his brush. He dipped it in ink and continued.
A burden you should not have to bear. If I had a choice, things would not be this way, but the other nations have made it clear. . .
The other nations had made it clear . . .
Zuko sighed, and put down his brush in order to rub his temples. Since he had taken the throne six years ago, his life had been nothing short of a nightmare. The Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom had been quick with their terms of surrender. Quick and unreasonable. Thankfully, Aang had been there in order to talk the nations out of their more vindictive demands that would have left the Fire Nation in poverty and left its dignity in shreds. However, on some things they had been unyielding
.
He picked up the brush again.
The other nations have made it clear that I cannot marry within the Fire Nation.
He remembered when Mai had first found out. She had laughed because she thought it was a joke. Then, she had laughed because of how the other nations would react when Zuko told them he wasn’t going to do that. Then, she had stared at him stonily, when she found out that he would do no such thing.
Looking back, Zuko realized he had not handled the situation well. For instance, when he said that he could reinstate polygamy and make her his concubine . . . Yes, that had not gone over well.
His letter went on. Zuko imagined himself tearing open his heart and let it bleed all over the page. It hurt, writing that letter, it really did. He wasn’t sure how many times he assured her he loved her. In the end, he signed,
Love, Zuko
And gave it to a servant. He would never know if she had read it.