Chapter Text
Izumi held back tears while she stared at her maid’s reflection in the vanity mirror, the woman’s pupils blown in a state of panic as the hairbrush ripped a sizable chunk of silky, black hair from the princess’ head. Hoping to hide the mistake she gathered Izumi’s locks into her free hand and began twisting them into a tight bun. While her scalp still hurt from the rough treatment, she stayed quiet to avoid getting the anxious woman in trouble with her parents.
“Okay, it’s finished,” she smiled nervously around a chewed fingernail, “Are you excited for the banquet tonight, Princess Izumi?”
“I guess,” she shrugged. Her mother’s parents were eager to visit, and mentioned big news regarding the future of the Fire Nation. She didn’t understand what news they would be able to offer her father, the Fire Lord, but that just made the prospect more interesting to her. Now that she had turned fourteen years old, she was allowed to attend the extravagant parties she would watch take place from the window of her bedroom.
“Come on, let’s get you downstairs to greet everyone.”
At the top of the winding staircase, she could see several guests dancing in the middle of the parlor, while her parents watched the merriment off to the side. She knew they were quite reserved, as was she, but it was odd that they looked unhappy to be hosting a function. By the time she landed on the final step, a short boy with thick eyebrows immediately stood beside her.
“Hi, my name’s Yaoyo,” he said, flashing a bright grin with his eyes shut tight, “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Hello, my name is Izumi,” upon saying her name, she cringed, “but, you probably know that, already. Not that I’m famous, it’s just-”
His bubbly laughter distracted her from the embarrassment, “Do you wanna dance?”
“I don’t know. There seem to be a lot of people, and I’m not very good.”
“I could teach you,” another boy replied, his buttery smooth voice blowing into her ear as he leaned against the railing, “I’m Jun Lee, a pleasure to finally stand before your grace, Princess.”
“Hey, I’m supposed to go first,” Yaoyo muttered, shoving the young man off-balance and reaching for Izumi’s hand in an attempt to steer her away from the new arrival. He dragged her into the center of the dance floor, pulling her from side to side while she stared down at her feet, determined not to step on his toes. The band quickened their tempo soon after, and her dance partner led the two of them into a frenzied spin that brought a smile to her lips. With a brisk turn, Jun Lee was suddenly in front of her, his hand uncomfortably close to the small of her back, but his other hand grasping ahold of her small fingers with a firmness that made her heart melt. Having stood several inches taller than herself, she felt as safe in his arms as she often was in her parents’.
“Mind if I cut in?” a third boy interjected, squirming to awkwardly slot himself in between the pair while the music reached its crescendo.
“Um, I actually don’t-”
“It’s still technically my turn,” Yaoyo snapped, “I was supposed to have two dances with her before you would even show up, Jun!”
“Yeah, well, you cheated at picking straws, so consider this payback for being a greasy little sneak,” he smirked, twisting her around to direct her farther away from the other boys.
“Wait, what’s this about turns?” she asked, “Why did you all pick straws just to dance with me?”
“It’s nothing you need to worry about, my lady,” Jun Lee’s smoldering gaze nearly entranced her, until her father’s voice cut through the pipa solo.
“I’m sorry, Mai, but I can’t watch this anymore!” he roared, stomping his way across the parlor, “The arrangement is off, go home! Get out of here!”
“Zuko, these fine young men are the heirs to our nation’s nobility,” Izumi’s grandmother groused from her seat, “If you reject every one of them, the country will be in ruins. Do you really want to risk chaos for the sake of your own comfort?”
“Mother, please,” Mai protested, quickly joining her husband’s side, “you’re exaggerating again. Like we told you many times, we want Izumi to be able to choose a suitor on her own.”
Izumi, having overheard their argument, peeled herself away from Jun Lee and the other boys. One of them attempted to grab at her wrist, but only managed to hook his fingers around the edge of her sleeve like a small child. Turning around, she looked down to see that he was, in fact, rather young; several years younger than her, at least. He stood at the height of her waist, and his dress clothes were a size too big, making him look like he had shrunken down into the outfit.
“Hi, I like your hair, can we dance?” he rushed out clumsily, as though he had been coached to say it, and strained on his toes in a futile effort to appear taller.
Zuko lightly shooed him away, “Back off my daughter, you womanizer. Go on, and find your mother. The same goes for the rest of you, got it?”
“You’re going to regret burning all of these bridges, Mai. This family was lucky that the Fire Lord fell in love with you, but our status will dwindle without the right connections.”
Exasperated, she sighed, “I think it’s time you head back home, now. The festivities are nearly over, and I’d hate for your carriage to get stranded in the dark tonight.”
A half hour later, the party was reduced to the family’s closest friends, who had traveled for several days to attend the banquet. While Aang and Katara spoke privately with her parents in the study, Izumi snuck away to hide in her bedroom. She sat at the edge of her bed, weeping into a handkerchief, when a sudden rapping against her door startled her out of woes.
“Who is it?” she called out, reaching for her spectacles that she had placed on her nightstand.
“Hey,” Bumi said, offering her a small, lopsided smile, “I just wanted to check on you, and see if you were okay-”
“Beat it, kid,” Toph snarked, playfully shoving him out of the door frame and walking into the room, “Give a lady some space, will ya?”
Izumi’s jaw hung open when her aunt shut the door with her hip and casually flopped onto the bed.
“Aunt Toph, if you don’t mind me asking, what are you doing up here?”
“Everyone’s making a racket down there, and I could barely hear myself think!” she ranted, rolling onto her back with her crossed legs dangling off the side of the mattress, “After what a pain it was to get up those stairs on my own, I’m not going back down any time soon, either.”
“Well, I appreciate your endeavor,” she spoke slowly, squirming in her spot, “but I was kind of hoping to be alone for a little while. No offense, it’s just been kind of a confusing evening.”
“Yeah, I get that. It’s always awkward when family picks who they want you to marry. Especially when they pull out the ‘status’ card to guilt you.”
Puzzled, the girl wracked her brain for a reason behind the sudden connection, until she remembered the reputation of the Beifong family in Gaoling.
"Did your grandparents want you to marry someone they liked?” Izumi asked.
“Hm? Oh, no, my grandparents were never an issue. But, there are times when parents can be complicated, and annoying. Your mom and dad actually surprised me that they stood up for you, considering they were arranged.”
“Wait, my parents were set up to get married? How do you know?”
Toph dug into her ear with a finger, “They told me. That grandma of yours probably still thinks that she’s the one who made it happen, ‘cause it was all her idea in the first place, but your mom was already into Sparky way before. It was kind of gross, to be honest, when they’d be all over each other.”
She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth as she mulled over her next words. Her parents were arranged, but the expectations of their parents weren’t the catalyst if they were in love prior. All it meant was that her grandmother approved of the relationship.
“Do you think I can arrange my own marriage, too, someday?”
The bout of silence between them was deafening, but Izumi was grateful that Toph seemed to be choosing her answer carefully for once, rather than blurting out the first thought to enter her mind.
“As long as you pick a winner. Don’t focus on the guys who your uptight folks will like, but get someone who’ll like you more than anyone else in the world.”
“I’ll try,” she nodded, before rising from the bed and composing herself to join the rest of her loved ones in the parlor. She turned back to thank her aunt for her advice, but stopped once she heard a loud snore thundering from the other side of the room. Opening the door, Izumi saw Bumi waiting in the hallway, and smiled sweetly.