"Although it doesn't compare to our capital, I must say that the palace of the Northern Water Tribe is quite impressive," said Azula, who was at the palace entrance as ntioned earlier. She said this regardless of the expressions on the faces of the guards stationed there.
"I'd love to see it! I suppose I'll be able to visit the Imperial City of your Fire Nation," Yue replied, standing next to her nephew's fiancée.
"That's possible if things go as planned," Zuko comnted. He was dressed in clothes that made him look like a crown prince.
This was the first ti he had worn this type of attire in public. Previously, he had limited himself to clothing worn by the royal family, with no aning beyond the fact that he was part of that family.
However, the current situation forced him to wear these clothes because he was essentially carrying out his duties as next in line to rule the Fire Nation. He had to show that he could bear that responsibility.
Not only that, but it could be said that this was the first ti Shisui had worn clothes other than black and gold, adding red to his outfit for the first ti. This outfit was part of the last garnts Azulon had ordered to be woven for him, so it held strong emotional value.
"By the way, what is the na of the capital? Is there an official na? I've heard the civilian population call it 'Royal Caldera City,' but I've only seen 'Imperial City' in docunts. Is there an official na?" Shisui said suddenly, causing those traveling with him to ponder this question. Even Zuko, the heir, had not found an answer.
"I suppose our nation's notoriety is so high that the capital doesn't need a na..." Azula replied uncertainly. No one had given this issue much thought until now. Shisui had brought it up, making it impossible to leave the matter as it was.
"You can doubt everything you've experienced later. We've already reached the Throne Room," Yue interrupted suddenly. They were already inside the palace, in front of a large ice door blocking the way.
It was just the four of them and Zhao, the vice admiral, because they were going to discuss the current political situation with Arnook, the head of the Northern Water Tribe.
Unlike the others, who were chatting comfortably among themselves, he remained silent, paying attention to everything he saw along the way. He wasn't subtle, nor did he bother to be. He could easily justify himself with the curiosity that anyone might feel upon entering a building made entirely of solid ice.
Unlike the South Pole, the North Pole had widely adopted building with ice, so waterbenders were necessary for the task. For this reason, one could say that waterbending had beco integrated into the lives of the inhabitants, although certain things were distorted in the process.
This allowed for wonders such as the enormous door that Zhao was observing at that mont. He wasn't amazed by its size but by the intricate designs representing the history of the Northern Water Tribe. Ironically, part of the designs seed to have lted and frozen again, losing so information.
"How do you open it?" Zhao asked. Yue turned to look at him. The man had stayed several steps behind, not wanting to join them.
"Oh, we use waterbending. Those who can't do it just have to press here," said Yue. She approached a lever on a nearby wall and activated it.
"We know a lot about hydraulic systems. You could say our understanding of the subject is superior to any other nation's, except that we haven't used it to create machines like yours. We've only built ships and these chanisms, which is a bit sad," the princess comnted as she watched the ice door slowly open to reveal the room's interior.
People were already gathered inside, but Shisui was only interested in three of them: Arnook, Pakku, and a woman sitting next to her grandfather. The woman had gray hair, and when she noticed his gaze, she smiled at him.
"Child, you look a lot like your mother, Chang'e," said the older woman. She stood up, walked toward the Sage, and took his hand.
Shisui could have resisted or refused. Who was this woman? He didn't know her! But who could refuse to shake hands with a friendly old lady? He wasn't stupid, so he leaned in, making himself a little more accessible to the woman.
"I guess so, Grandma. But who are you?" Shisui asked, making the woman laugh. She touched his head quite confidently, ruffling his hair.
"I'm Yagoda! I'm the instructor of all the female waterbenders in Agna Qel'a. Child, your hair is well cared for, and your complexion is quite clean. Did you use waterbending to maintain it? It reminds of my youth!" The woman began chatting with Shisui, telling him trivial things nonstop and treating the young man like her grandson. Although she wasn't his grandmother, she could be considered as such.
She is the best healer in the entire North Pole! She delivered his mother and Yue. She was also a close friend of Kanna, or Gran Gran, the grandmother of Sokka and Katara. Unlike the original story, she did keep in touch with her.
The old woman dragged Shisui along with her under everyone's gaze and even offered him a chocolate ice cream bar. This made the Sage look out of place as he sat among n and won with serious expressions.
"By the way, where's my grandmother?" Shisui asked, looking around. There was no one he could relate to except Arnook and Yue.
"Taqqiq? She's indisposed. She contacted this morning, saying she was feeling nauseous, and...well, little Shisui, you'll have a new uncle or aunt in the future. Yue should know," Yagoda replied, not hiding anything. This caused Arnook, who had just found out, to look at the old woman in astonishnt.
"Really!? But I thought..." The man didn't finish his sentence, but those who knew understood.
Having children seed to be quite complicated for Taqqiq, which is why there was such an age difference between his two daughters. It was also part of the reason why Yue was born in poor health. Now, however, it seed that the Ocean and the Moon had blessed this woman with a new pregnancy.
"I found out a while ago, but I didn't want to ruin the surprise. Don't worry. I'll make sure my future sister is born healthy," Yue replied for Yagoda, causing Arnook to sigh with relief.
"Then let congratulate you on behalf of the Fire Nation," Zuko said, taking advantage of the mont to be kind and open dialogue about the issue concerning both peoples.
"And you won't bomb us while you're at it?" asked an old man with a sour expression, openly showing his displeasure at the arrival of the Fire Nation envoys.
Zuko's smile stiffened, but he had dealt with peculiar personalities like Shisui before, so he quickly composed himself. He looked at the man who had spoken directly in the eye without feeling ashad.
"We've made it clear that we don't want to continue the conflict. After all, we haven't had a large-scale conflict in years," Zuko replied. This made the old man feel uncomfortable, but another man next to him took over.
"Well, I'll grant you that. But what about their war against Ba Sing Se?" he asked. Zuko smiled broadly and pointed to Shisui.
"They wanted to kidnap Shisui. We made that clear when we announced why we attacked that city and only that city. We did not take the conflict to other parts of the Earth Kingdom.
Even King Bumi allowed us to freely defile his territory because he is discontent with Ba Sing Se," Zuko countered, bringing Shisui into the conversation. Shisui was still enjoying his popsicle, but, upon noticing certain glances falling on him, decided to contribute.
"They also attacked the princess and prince of the Fire Nation. Wouldn't you want to fight a group that sent attackers to my Aunt Yue?" Shisui asked, causing the n, who were already at odds with him, to react.
"Who are you to be here? You're just a guy who turned his back on his roots and allied himself with those who massacred his people," said the old man who had started the debate with Zuko. Instead of responding, Zuko only gave the old man a bored look. He continued to enjoy his popsicle in peace.
"Have you stopped crying yet?" Shisui asked when the man finally fell. This made the man want to speak again. However, since the sage had never respected old n of high status who enjoyed pressuring others, he decided to 'pressure' them.
Shisui unleashed his impulse without restraint but with fine control, avoiding those close to him, including Yagoda, who had kindly offered him dessert. He also avoided those who had fallen silent and Zhao, who was not yet on the opposing side.
Suddenly, those guys felt as if they were at the bottom of the ocean, crushed by the pressure of the abyss. This cut off any reaction from them. They could only watch as Shisui shook his head and continued speaking.
"Wouldn't it be simpler if we just forgot about these fools? They seem to forget that I did everything I could to mitigate the damage of the war. Just because I was raised in the Fire Nation doesn't an my actions have no value, does it?
The pain of war is not just sothing you have suffered. All sides involved have suffered. Peace seed distant until people realized it wasn't worth it, all because I set the wheel in motion.
I don't like taking responsibility for all this because I only planted a seed. It sprouted when many people watered it, people who wanted a different way of doing things than focusing solely on war.
Just because I didn't focus all my attention on a town I've never lived in doesn't an I'm the traitor they're talking about in those alleys. Damn it! Auntie, when are you planning to take the lead?
I can't wait much longer. I guess I can help you speed up peace because I'm not a timid pacifist when blood needs to be shed. Shisui finished the popsicle he was eating and was about to get up when Yagoda put her hand on his shoulder, stopping him.
"A bloody rise to power always has consequences. Only fools are blinded by pain. They have forgotten that you have suffered because of war too..." said the old woman. Shisui nodded, calming the impulse he was feeling.
"It seems I can no longer play slowly... You heard my nephew! I am taking the position of Chief of the Tribe. Who is against it? Who is in favor? Rember, do you think your choices can defeat ?" Yue stood up. Her eyes began to shine, and her hair rose and fluttered without wind.
"Eh? You've finally taken that step. It was about ti," said an elderly advisor. The man next to her nodded with a big smile on his face.
"It's about ti! If you can find a replacent for , all the better," said the old man, looking forward to his long-awaited retirent.
"Well, my grandson always said he wanted to be a leader, but he's only five, so it looks like little Naru will have to wait. He might make a good soldier, though," said another advisor who took it well that Yue wanted to take charge.
The old n whom Shisui had pressured with his impulsiveness remained silent, but they agreed that Yue should be the successor. After all, wasn't she the Moon? Why couldn't she be the leader?
"Peace sounds good, too, if you think about it. Aren't we more comfortable this way?" the old man who had argued with Zuko at the beginning asked in a low voice. His past words had co from pain, as Yagoda had said. He had been blinded by his past losses.
But deep down, he appreciated the current state of the world and wanted it to stay that way. This contradiction between his inner thoughts and actions was normal for humanity. After all, human beings are contradictory at tis.
"So, if I'm already in charge, let's start talking in depth about peace and the changes I want to bring about. Why do we continue to prevent won from learning to fight using Waterbending? The southerners are surpassing us in that regard," said Yue with a playful smile, knowing that to effectively implent her ideas, she needed to stir up competition between nations.
After all, it's normal for countries to have this kind of narrative. For example, the Fire Nation might claim that its fried chicken is more authentic than the Earth Kingdom's, or that its sashimi is better than the North Pole's.
Why does the Fire Nation claim that its products are superior to those of their country of origin?
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AN: Taqqiq ans Moon. Yes, Mother and daughters have nas related to Moon!
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