𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗚𝗜𝗥𝗟 | zuko

2: MARKET

I had changed a bit since the Fire Nation invaded Ba Sing Se.  I had to. Because before then, I hadn't even known there was a war going on.  Then it all changed so quickly.  Overnight, Fire Nation soldiers roamed the streets, putting people "in their place" and making sure they followed any rules they proposed.  They kept people afraid.

And I was the one who went out to the market stalls every morning because father was meeting with the resistance, and grandfather was too old to evade the soldiers.  Mother stayed inside to look after him.

I couldn't tell you that nothing ever happened to me, that I stayed in line and the soldiers left me alone, because I was just a girl.  But that would be a lie. Because I was caught doing something wrong multiple times.  

I talked badly about the soldiers in plain daylight, I gave them side-eyes and death stares when they weren't looking. Only sometimes, they were looking, and I was threatened for it.  They were things I regret doing because I'll always remember what they did.

The ax forgets, but the tree remembers.

 "That's Lee?"

"Well, that's Zuko.  There wasn't ever a Lee."

"You went on a date with the Fire Lord!  Well, I'm sure he wasn't the Fire Lord then, but still!"

"I know."

"That's crazy! Jin, you have to see him again."

"What?  You're crazy, Kyra!  How am I supposed to do that, just walk into the Fire Nation and ask to see him?"

"Well, I guess not.  But you should do something."

"What can I do?"

Kyra opened her mouth to say something, but had nothing to say, and closed it.

"Come on," I said.  "Should we just go back to your house?  I haven't even eaten breakfast."

Kyra smiled.  "Sure."

--  ꩜ 🌊 🌏 🔥 --

Kyra and my family got together just after dusk for dinner. Her father made his stew, and we ate and talked and laughed the whole night through.  Then we played Pai Sho, and like always, grandfather won.  He used to play in tournaments when he was younger.  

They were setting up for repairs on the street we usually went home by, so we took a different route.  The route I used to take to Pao's Family Tea Shop.  

It was open like it always had been.  But like it was for a while, the boy was not there.  Neither was his uncle, who really changed the tea shop for the better.  At least the tea was still alright, not as bad as it had been.  

I just watched it pass by as we walked, another landmark in the map of the lower ring.  Just like any other.  I was fond of the place, but I hadn't gone back for a while.  Not since the Fire Nation took over.  

Finally, we got home after walking under the clear, starry sky for longer than usual.  There used to be a curfew, which we would have been past by now.  No one was allowed to be out after sunset.  But we were finally free.  And I was happy about it.  Genuinely happy.  I looked up at the sky and smiled.  The stars reminded me of the lanterns.  

Maybe I did wish I could see him again.  I probably wished that for a very long time.  I just didn't know it.  I wanted to see him again.  I wanted to find a way.  But I had no idea how I'd do it, or what I'd say when I did.

The next morning, I went to Kyra's again.  We talked and talked until the subject finally dawned on the Fire Lord.  

"I want to see him again," I told Kyra solemnly. 

"Well, good," she replied.  "But how?"

"That's what I was hoping you could figure out.  You're the smart one, aren't you?"

"Yes, but you're the one with common sense.  I would've suggested I use some fancy earthbending to take down part of a wall, beat some guards up, you know.  But being that the war is over..." She waited for me to complete her idea.

"... We could probably walk through the front door.  See, that might be hard, or it might be easy.  I'm sure there are still people who liked the old Fire Lord.  And it's only been two days since the war ended.  We still can't just walk in, I'm sure."

"So maybe I could do some earthbending?"

I stifled a laugh. "Maybe."

We decided to take a walk around town, pick up some things from the market.  Mother needed tea leaves, and Kyra's father had asked her to pick up some duck for their dinner that night.

"Hey, Han. You remember Pao's tea shop?" a man said to his friend on the street. Their conversation caught my attention, and I tuned the others in the area out. 

"Sure I do.  It's still around, you know," replied Han, looking through the fruit in a market stall.

"Yeah, but not as good as it was just before the war came around.  That guy that worked there, what was his name?"

"Um, Pao?"

The man rolled his eyes. "No, Han, not him.  The one guy that made really good tea.  He was an employee."

"Oh, Mushi?  Yeah, I remember him.  I heard he got his own tea shop in the upper ring."

Mushi.  Well, I'm sure that wasn't his real name.  But that was Lee's uncle.  And if the tea shop is still there, I'm wondering if his Uncle is still there.  Then maybe I could find a way to talk to the Fire Lord. I continued to listen.

"I've never been, but it sounds like it's really good.  I've got some cousins that have gone."

"What's it called?"

"The Jasmine Dragon."

That was it, then.  I was going to go to the Upper Ring and find the Jasmine Dragon. Much easier than trying to get into the Fire Nation, because all I needed was a train ticket.  I could just say I'm going on a day trip.  My parents wouldn't mind that.  

"Hey, Kyra, did you hear that?" I asked, turned around toward the two men who had been talking.  She was talking with the meat vendor.

"I didn't hear anything but high prices.  What is it?"

"We have to go to the Upper Ring."

"Hold on, Jin." She turned back toward the vendor.  "12 silver pieces, that's all you're getting.  All I want is one and a half pounds of duck."

The vendor sighed. "15, and you have a deal."

"14."

"Fine."  The vendor wrapped the meat and she handed him the silver pieces.  She bowed slightly to the vendor in thanks, then continued walking with me.  

"Now, what's that you were saying about the Upper Ring?"  

"I was saying we have to go there.  Just a day trip. I have to go to a tea shop there."

"Why?" she asked.  "What's so special about it?"

"Well, when Lee and his Uncle worked at Pao's, someone heard they had the best tea in town and gave his uncle his own tea shop."

"You mean Zuko."

"What?"

"His name isn't Lee, remember,  it's Zuko."

"Right.  Anyway, that tea shop was the Jasmine Dragon.  And if we go there, maybe we can find his uncle."