The Flames of the past (Avatar: Zuko love story)

Chapter 46: The Ember Island Players

"They are back, Mia." Sokka said slowly and Mia just woke up from her daydream. She saw the cattle boiling and roughly she stirred the soup. "Just in time for dinner, lucky them," Mia said grumpy. "You don't wanna hear what happened?" Sokka said while watching at the sky, Appa getting closer and closer. "No, I don't." Sokka sighed and walked away from Mia. Mia tasted the chicken soup and smiled. She handled her spoon over to Momo who was eating it as well. "Now it's definately a good soup." Mia laughed. She saw Katara and Zuko jumping off Appa's back and talking to Sokka and Aang. Zuko looked at Mia, and she quickly turned her back to him.

 She felt Zuko's hand on her back and he kissed her on her cheek. He wrapped his arms around her neck and laid his head on hers. "I am sorry I yelled at you." He said. "Good, you should be," Mia replied and she took a deep breathe, "what did she do?" Zuko sat down next to Mia, looking to the ground. "We met him," Zuko shrugged, "she did not forgive him, not really... but she couldn't attack him. She just couldn't." 

"I already expected that. Tho I hope he'd learned his lesson by meeting her..." Mia whispered and she smiled faintly. "What are we going to do now? We can't stay here." Zuko asked. "I have been thinking about that," Mia said and she looked at him, "maybe we could go to Ember Island? No one stays there, right?" 

"No, but..." Zuko sighed, "it's very, very close to the capitol." 

"That's good right? No one ever gets there, really. Not from your family," Mia said and she tasted the soup, "I remember that time I could come with you. We went to that horrid theater," Mia laughed, "I have never seen such horrible actors." Zuko laughed too and nodded in agreement. He grabbed Mia's hand and squeezed in it. "How are you, actually? I mean, how do you feel?" Zuko asked awkwardly. "I don't know," Mia sighed, "it's all a mess." She kissed Zuko and tapped him on the leg. "Tell them dinner is ready, and about Ember Island." 

~

And so they did, the next day: off to Ember Island. It was funny to be there. Nothing had really changed. Of course, everything had changed, But only for this time it didn't feel that way. Zuko and Aang were practicing their Fire Bending, and it looked very good. Impressed Mia watched them while sipping her tea. She got pretty skinburned over the last few weeks, so she spend her days as much as she could in the shadow. Suki and Sokka Katara and Toph were sitting next to her, talking a bit. "Doesn't it seem kinda weird to be hiding from the Fire Lord in his own house?"

 "I told you, my father hasn't come here since the last time my family was actually happy," Zuko replied to Katara, "and that was a long time ago." Mia nodded in agreement. "You guys are not gonna believe this!" Sokka yelled when he and Suki ran up to them, "there is a play about us!" Suki nodded excitedly. "We were in town and we found this poster!" Sokka rolled it out, and  everyone gathered around it. They saw Aang and Mia in the middle, with Katara and Sokka on the sides with Zuko in the background.

"How is that possible?" Katara asked. 

 Listen to this," Sokka said and he turned the poster around, "the boy in the Iceberg is a new production from a acclaimed play writer, who searched the globe gathering all kind of information about the avatar, from the icy South Pole, to the dusty Ba Sing Se. His sources includes  singing nomades, pirates, prisoners of war and the surprisingly knowledgable merchant of cabbages." Mia giggled. "oh, the cabbage man..." She said grinning from ear to ear. "The boy in the Iceberg will be played by the Ember Island Players." Suki said. Mia's smile disappeared and she shook her head. Zuko groaned. "My mother used to take us there to see them... They butchered 'Love Amongst The Dragons' every year." Mia's mouth fell open. "I know right?!"