𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐎 𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐍 | prince zuko

²²

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

     A LONG FIVE YEARS HAD PASSED since the end of the Hundred Year War. Yan was still living at home with her parents, assisting them whenever they needed her help. Although she was now technically a grown woman ― well, grown is quite an exaggeration, she was only 22 years old ― she still harbored her teenage rebellion and nature, often sneaking away from home to ride on the back of  her shirshu through the Agrarian Zone of Ba Sing Se. She was somewhat famous in the Capital City, though not as famous as Avatar Aang; many girls would stop her in the street to praise her for the hard work she had done during the Hundred Year War and sometimes ask for fighting lessons so they could learn. Although the war was over, there was still much to be done in the world.

Yan was returning home after riding on the back of Xian through the city, helping out Iroh with some tea deliveries, something she normally did when she wasn't goofing around. She hitched her shirshu in the back garden and entered her family home through the back door, sighing in exhaustion. As she approached the coffee table to grab a moon peach from a bowl, the sharp call of her mother caused her to pause.

"Nope, don't you dare! Head straight to the bath before you track dirt through the sitting room!" she ordered, pointing down the hallway to where the washroom was. The rebellious daughter groaned and rolled her eyes, still taking the fruit and eating it as she walked to the washroom to get cleaned up. 

"We always track dirt through the house, Māmā. We're earthbenders," she remarked as she entered the washroom and began to undress. After her quick bath, she exited her bedroom after changing into clean clothes, squeezing any excess water out of her hair. As she passed her parent's room, she saw that there were more boxes out than normal. "Why are all these hanfu boxes out? Don't tell me we're going to have tea with the Earth King?"

Lian scoffed and shook her head, opening a few boxes to determine which hanfu to pack. "No, we're not. We're going on a trip to the Fire Nation; your father would like to visit your grandmother," she answered as she set aside a few boxes to take on the trip. At the mention of her grandmother, Yan groaned and rolled her eyes, wanting nothing more than to sink into the floor.

"Why? Is she finally dying?" she asked, earning a slap on the back of her head from her father. "What, it's a genuine question."

"No, she's not dying. She has been asking to see us, and we haven't visited the Fire Nation in quite some time, except for you when you ran off on your adventure." Fengge responded as he finished polishing his shoes that he only wore whenever he was around his mother. The earthbender girl made a face and sat at the coffee table, not looking forward to seeing her grandmother. Although her grandmother was a part of the family, the woman was very negative and didn't like anything that wasn't Fire Nation, including her granddaughter, her daughter-in-law, or Ba Sing Se. In other words, Yan did not like the woman and always had to be restrained from burying her in a rock slide.

"Correction, she's been asking to see you, her darling son. Do I really have to go? I can just stay here and look after the house like the adult I am." Yan smiled a saccharine grin as she begged her parents if she could stay home. However, her begs and pleas fell on deaf ears and she was forced to pack for a trip she was very reluctant to take.

. . .

     The trip to the Fire Nation took a few days on a ferry, the ride across the rocky waves making Yan very seasick. She hadn't ridden on a ship or even left Ba Sing Se in five years; she had no reason to after the war had ended. Her grandmother lived in a slightly large town on some island, though she wouldn't be surprised if the old woman had upped and moved to the Capital City. When the Qiang family stepped off the ship and walked around the town, the earthbender mother and daughter garbed in green clothing, the youngest member of the family felt very uncomfortable, knowing her grandmother would say something.