Work Text:
Letter 1
From: Inspector’s Office, Ministry of Education
To: The Board of Governors
Honored Members of the Board,
My final report on the Royal Fire Academy for Girls must begin with a statement of profound dismay. The facts are these: a group of students, roaming the library without meaningful supervision on a so-called "archival deep-dive," discovered a hidden compartment. Inside was a secret cache belonging to Assistant Headmistress Wang, containing a mountain of contraband sugar delicacies and - Agni help us - a collection of revisionist works that whitewash the early reign of Fire Lord Sozin. In the ensuing uproar, the woman herself did not have the decency to face the consequences. She has vanished, abandoning her post and her duties.
This lack of discipline filters down to the student body. I am no supporter of the old regime, but we must not confuse the rejection of militarism with the abandonment of all structure. With the leadership of Headmistress Shihan and her right hand, Sifu Nobara Mai, the core tenets of Fire Nation character - discipline, resilience, personal accountability - are being eroded in the name of "modernization." To cite one example: the daughter of one of my junior ministers was involved in a serious dispute - a matter of honor that tradition would resolve through the disciplined channel of an Agni Kai. Under Sifu Nobara's policy, the girls were forbidden from dueling unless they first submitted a ten-page essay proving the combat's "inevitability." The girl spent the night hunched over a desk, developed a sore neck, and lost the debate. Her honor was shamefully, bureaucratically denied.
I urge the Board to consider a significant reallocation of the Academy's funding and a complete overhaul of its administration. Immediate cuts should be made to frivolities that contribute nothing to a student's discipline or national pride - the entomology club, the so-called "literary salon," the budget for "experimental art supplies." These resources would be better spent on marching drills and tactical history. We are raising the future of the Fire Nation, not a generation of butterfly-chasing dilettantes.
Inspector Mita
P.S. The revisionist texts have been returned to the archives. The cakes, however, are considered a lost cause. His Majesty's tax collectors have been notified of the deficit in the sugar budget.
Letter 2
From: Royal Fire Academy for Girls, Sifu Nobara Mai
To: The Board of Governors
Honored Governors,
Inspector Mita’s report is, if nothing else, a testament to his tireless dedication to finding the darkest possible interpretation of any event. The Academy does, indeed, find itself in a situation, but whether it’s quite the den of sedition he describes is another matter.
Regarding the former Assistant Headmistress: while I share the Inspector’s dismay at her audacity in hoarding contraband where any student could find it, Sifu Wang was never seen attempting to instill her questionable historical interpretations in students. She simply read her books in the library. And while Inspector Mita alarmingly describes "revisionist works," the titles I observed were less political propaganda and more "The Eternal Flame of My Loving Heart," - sentimental, poorly written fictions that pose a greater threat to good literature than to the stability of the Fire Nation. The old methods of controlling every thought a teacher possessed is precisely what we seek to move beyond.
As for the Inspector’s primary grievance - my Agni Kai policy - he fundamentally misunderstands its purpose. I am not teaching students to shy away from conflict. I am teaching them that if you’re going to risk third-degree burns, you should at least have a compelling thesis statement first. The two girls in question did not have their honor "bureaucratically denied." They had the opportunity to pour their initial fury into essays, and by the time they were to debate, they had spent most of their allocated hours sharing tips on how to conceal eye-bags from a sleepless night, rather than turning each other into medium-well steaks over a broken hairpin. I consider that a rousing success.
Finally, the Inspector’s proposed solution to defund our clubs as “frivolities” reveals a profound ignorance of how students actually learn. He advocates for rote learning: students hunched over dusty maps in a stuffed classroom until their noses bleed, only to forget everything after an exam. Just last week, the students from my "useless" entomology club presented me with a terrain map of the academy grounds and adjoining territory, which they had created while tracking the migratory routes of wasp-moths. They learned because they were passionate, not because they were forced.
Inspector Mita's philosophy produces graduates who are very good at standing in formation. Mine produces graduates who know why they're standing there, and whether it's the most effective use of their time. He calls my methods "coddling." I call his a waste of potential.
The choice of which future to fund is yours.
Nobara Mai
P.S. If the tax collectors require a culprit for the sugar deficit, I am told the ghost of the Fire Lord Gonryu’s Third Royal Consort is still accepting blame for things. She’s been dead for five centuries, but her credit is apparently still good.
Letter 3
From: Minister Sethi, Head of the Board of Governors
To: Royal Fire Academy for Girls, Sifu Nobara Mai
Sifu Nobara,
The Board has received and thoroughly reviewed Inspector Mita’s report, as well as your… spirited response. In light of the concerns raised, we undertook a comprehensive review of the Academy's recent records, paying specific attention to the tangible outcomes of your pedagogical approach.
Following this review, and after a brief but decisive consultation with Headmistress Shihan, the Board has reached a conclusion. Your methods, while unorthodox, produce undeniable results. Your students demonstrate initiative, practical problem-solving, and a form of discipline that, while not traditional, is precisely what this institution requires to move forward. Therefore, the Board has unanimously selected you as the candidate for the position of Assistant Headmistress.
Final approval requires a formal letter to His Imperial Fire Majesty, as per tradition. A mere formality! They have never denied a candidate in 200 years.
We await your response.
Minister Sethi
On behalf of the Board of Governors
P.S. We consulted Fire Sages on spectral litigation from the Third Royal Consort. They say her spirit is demanding reparations in the form of yearly sugared fire lotus seeds offerings. This is precisely the kind of budgetary nonsense we cannot afford.
Letter 4
From: Royal Fire Academy for Girls, Sifu Nobara Mai
To: Minister Sethi, Head of the Board of Governors
Honored Governors,
While I am deeply moved by your faith in me, I must respectfully suggest alternatives:
- Promote Professor Semun - a woman of impeccable temper and no history of inspiring students to engage in gastronomical espionage or revive militarist regimes. Her greatest ambition is to perfect the thirteen-stroke fire lotus character. She is, in a word, safe.
- Revive the duel tradition. Though former Assistant Headmistress Wang and I are both non-benders, I am certain we could comply with the ancient rites as soon as she shows up. I propose a contest of speed cake-eating, or perhaps a test of who can deliver the most inspiring motivational speech to a room of disinterested adolescents. The outcome would be swift and decisive.
Regarding the requisite formality of writing to His Majesty: surely, in this modern age, such rituals are obsolete? A stamped decree from the Headmistress should more than suffice. I assure you, my ability to threaten students into transcribing classical literature will not be enhanced by his imperial signature.
Sifu Nobara Mai
Letter 5
From: Minister Sethi, Head of the Board of Governors
To: Royal Fire Academy for Girls, Sifu Nobara Mai
Sifu Nobara,
The Board has reviewed your… creative alternatives.
While we admire the inventive spirit behind proposals to abolish a two-century-old pillar of our administration, we must decline.
To address your points in order:
- Professor Semun was consulted. Upon hearing the news, she perfected the fourteenth stroke of the fire-lotus character, declared the form "unbalanced," and fainted quietly at her desk. She has been prescribed rest and no additional responsibilities.
- The ancient rites are clear: an Agni Kai is a duel of combat. While the image of you and former Assistant Headmistress Wang armed with cake forks is entertaining, it does not meet the legal standard.
This brings us to the non-negotiable core of the matter. While you may be indifferent to scandal, consider the consequences, such as the immediate cancellation of your budget for new practice blades, throwing stars, and that custom-order reinforced target dummy you requested and its reallocation to something less litigious, like floral arrangement.
Your choice is simple. Write the letter to the Fire Lord and manage the chaos with your unique talents, or explain to your students why their next lesson in advanced blade throwing will be conducted with watering cans and wilted peonies.
We await your decision.
Minister Sethi,
On behalf of the Board of Governors
Letter 6 (Hawk-Delivered Note)
Mai,
I write to you from my grandma’s estate in the Hu Xin Provinces, where the air is clear and, for a time of her seventy-fourth birthday celebrations, blessedly free of the sound of adolescent drama.
I have heard about the Board’s correspondence. Do not be too angry with Minister Sethi. His methods are blunt because his fear is real. There are those in the Caldera who see our mission to educate girls into thinkers as a dangerous frivolity. They would see our library turned back into a barracks and our gardens into drilling grounds. Shouts won't stop them, but a quiet competence they cannot argue against will. You are that competence.
This is not an order from your Headmistress. It is a plea from a woman who has watched you for years. For too long, we have celebrated only one kind of strength: the loud, the obvious, the destructive. Yours is different, and it is precisely what the Fire Nation needs now: quiet, patient, and unshakably loyal. The girls here - especially the silent, the observant, the ones who despise violence - they need to see that a woman whose power lies in depth, not dazzle, can navigate this world, and decisively reshape it.
The Board threatens your budget for blades. I am appealing to the heart I know you possess, the one that does not beat any less fiercely for being so well-armored.
Yours, in hope and solidarity,
Shihan
Letter 7
From: Royal Fire Academy for Girls, Assistant Headmistress’s Office
To: His Imperial Majesty, Fire Lord Zuko
As the ginkgo leaves lay a mantle of defeated gold upon the caldera, may Your Majesty’s governance enjoy the same impeccable timing that has characterized so many of your most unforgettable decisions.
Pursuant to the Board of Governors’ decree, and in recognition of my consistent success in discouraging nonsense through the efficient use of well-timed sighs, this unworthy servant has been entrusted with guiding the Fire Nation's future female leaders.
My duties have now expanded beyond instructing young minds in the proper grip of a calligraphy brush to encompass the stewardship of a budget (that exists more in spirit than in coin), and mediating between warring noble families - tasks I am finding to be a trifling diversion after a most thorough apprenticeship in the management of volatile demeanors and the anticipation abrupt changes in allegiance.
It is this unworthy one’s most sincere hope that this brief illumination of my humble duties has provided His Majesty with some novel insight into the minutiae of academic governance - a realm which lies far beneath the august weight of celestial concerns that daily occupies the Burning Throne. I shall endeavor to navigate these provincial challenges with the competence my station demands, though they pale in comparison to the great affairs of state which you and you alone are destined to wield.
With the utmost deference to your divine office,
Nobara Mai
Letter 8
From: His Imperial Majesty, Fire Lord Zuko
To: Royal Fire Academy for Girls, Assistant Headmistress’s Office
Dear Assistant
Esteemed Mai
Most Honorable Assistant Headmistress [inkblot] Distinguished Mai,
The ginkgo leaves here… don’t look defeated. They just look like leaves. And I don’t know what “volatile demeanors” you had to deal with. I just… I don’t see why you make everything sound like it’s nothing. "Trifling diversion." "Volatile demeanors." Do you think my job is any different? It's all budgets and disputes and merchants who want tax breaks for exports I didn't even know we had! It's not all Agni Kai's and speeches! It's work. It's hard, boring work that actually matters.
You think you're above it. You always did. But these "nuisances" are people's lives. Those girls' lives.
The Board says you're the best choice. Fine. But if you're just going to treat this like it's beneath you, then maybe you're still the same person who thought rolling her eyes was a solution.
The approval is official. Prove me wrong.
By Imperial Will,
Fire Lord Zuko
P.S. My minister of agriculture is waiting. Something about a fungal blight. So if this seems rushed, it is.
Letter 9
From: Royal Fire Academy for Girls, Assistant Headmistress’s Office
To: His Imperial Majesty, Fire Lord Zuko
Your Imperial Majesty,
I am in receipt of your illuminating communication. It is a rare gift to be so explicitly informed of the specific facial expressions and tonal qualities expected of one’s subordinates. The job description from the Board was, it seems, incomplete.
You mistake a lack of performative sentiment for a lack of substance - a common error in an age so enamored with public gesture. The Board promoted me because when a problem arises, I solve it. Quietly. Permanently. The alternative, as we are both aware, is often loud, messy, and ultimately less effective.
I thank you for your fervent investment in the nuances of my administrative style, and assure you no further energy need be spent on the matter.
Yours in service,
Assistant Headmistress Nobara Mai
Letter 10
From: The Office of the Fire Lord
To: The Office of the Assistant Headmistress, Royal Fire Academy for Girls
Assistant Headmistress Nobara Mai,
I hope this letter finds you… explaining what in Agni’s name you just did.
Three inspectors just stormed out of my office. I was in the middle of a critical meeting about harbor repairs, and now all anyone can talk about is your budget presentation. Something about a giant scroll and a... a public lesson on things that do not need a public lesson.
Inspector Mita claiming you deliberately humiliated him and his assistants. And since I'm now dealing with the fallout, I'm inclined to believe him. Was that the point? To make my job harder?
I need an explanation. Now.
Fire Lord Zuko
P.S. And what was on the scroll that has my entire council acting like startled turtle-ducks?
Letter 11
From: Royal Fire Academy for Girls, Assistant Headmistress’s Office
To: His Imperial Majesty, Fire Lord Zuko
Your Imperial Majesty,
Thank you for your inquiry regarding the recent budgetary consultation. I am pleased to hear my presentation was so memorable.
The "giant scroll" depicted the female reproductive system. I found it a relevant visual aid, given that the subject of the meeting was the well-being of our girl student body. Inspector Mita had argued that investing in improved heating was "coddling" the students and that "a slight chill builds discipline." I merely provided a physiological rebuttal. I illustrated how chronic cold exposure can dysregulate the endocrine system, leading to fatigue, impaired focus, and physical discomfort - all of which are, I assured him, detrimental to the rigorous academic discipline he claims to value.
My methods may be unorthodox, but they are effective. Inspector Mita, and others of his mindset, were unable to argue with biological fact. They could only resort to sputtering about decorum, which is the last refuge of a defeated argument. The funding for the heating upgrades was approved by a narrow margin. If the inspectors’ delicate sensibilities were collateral damage, I offer my most insincere condolences.
The matter is settled. The students will be warm. The inspectors will, in time, recover.
Respectfully,
Assistant Headmistress Nobara Mai
P.S. I have a smaller copy of the diagram in my office if you require a refresher on the basics.
Letter 12
From: The Office of the Fire Lord
To: The Office of the Assistant Headmistress, Royal Fire Academy for Girls
Assistant Headmistress Mai,
Fine. Your point is made. It was… effective. I’ll give you that.
But now I have three inspectors claiming this proves my favoritism towards the Academy. They’re calling it protectionism. They’re saying I let you get away with tactics I’d never tolerate from anyone else, all because you used to… well. Because you’re you.
They’re not entirely wrong. If one of my ministers had done what you did, I’d have suspended them. But you got the result you wanted, and it was for the students, so I’m letting it stand. Just be aware that every time you do something like this, it reflects back on me. And not everyone thinks your methods are as illuminating as you do.
The funding is approved. Don’t make me regret it.
Fire Lord Zuko
P.S. My senior secretary just asked if he should "clear my schedule for an anatomy refresher" after reading your last letter. I nearly set my desk on fire. Do you have any idea how hard it is to maintain authority when your staff is snickering about your correspondence?
Letter 13
From: Royal Fire Academy for Girls, Assistant Headmistress’s Office
To: His Imperial Majesty, Fire Lord Zuko
Your Imperial Majesty,
It seems my students are more observant than your guards are discreet. I am told we had a royal visitor. I trust your assessment of our facilities was… edifying. I am only sorry I was not present to offer a proper tour. I could have shown you the new cracks in the western wall, or perhaps demonstrated the precise level of grit in the students' morning porridge, a topic of such vital national importance that it clearly warrants your personal, clandestine attention.
In the future, should Your Majesty feel the need for further firsthand assessment, a prior memorandum would be appreciated. Simply name the hour, and I will have the student body assembled for your review. But if you insist on playing the part of the distrustful sovereign, then have the integrity to make your inspection an official one. This is, after all, the institution you officially entrusted to my care.
It seems Your Majesty's trust has always been a revocable privilege.
Yours in Service,
Nobara Mai
Letter 14
From: The Office of the Fire Lord
To: The Office of the Assistant Headmistress, Royal Fire Academy for Girls
Mai,
It wasn’t an inspection. I was there to see Kiyi, just as an older brother wanting to spend time with her, not as the Fire Lord on official business. Her friends found out I was there, and they wanted to show me what they were learning. It was supposed to be… nice. A girl played the tsungi horn, another brought her illustrations for “The Early Chronicles of Avatar Szeto.” Then one of them, a girl named Daeok, said she had written a poem.
It was… well, it was about how Sozin’s way of ruling was strong and decisive. She never mentioned it by name, of course. The poem was all metaphors about unyielding fire and pruning weak branches. She looked right at me when citing it. She knew exactly what she was doing. The other girls looked like they’d seen a ghost. The girl with the tsungi horn was holding it so tight I thought it would crack.
I'm writing not to complain about her behavior or get her punished, but to tell you about the cold that stayed. The fear. The girls were scared - not of me. Of her. And of the silence that came after, which was worse.
I know you’re angry I didn’t send a notice. You can add it to the list of my failures. But right now, I’m more concerned about what happens in your classroom next. Those girls shouldn’t have to carry that kind of fear.
Let's not make this another conversation about your methods. So I'll ask you plainly: what are you going to do about Daeok?
Zuko
Letter 15
From: Royal Fire Academy for Girls, Assistant Headmistress’s Office
To: His Imperial Majesty, Fire Lord Zuko
Zuko,
Daeok.
Her father was one of Ozai’s lieutenants. He died in the Wulong Forest. Her mother followed not long after; the official record says from grief, the unofficial one – she took her own life in shame. She was taken in by a cousin-aunt, who was more concerned with the family’s reputation than with the girl in her care. She is lonely, and she is spiteful, and she has nowhere to put it all.
Kei Lo told me once why he joined the New Ozai Society. He said it was the first time anyone offered him a place, instead of just reminding him of his. First, I dismissed this, but then I started seeing the pattern everywhere. Children of the officers and ministers who diligently served Ozai. They're lost. They're told their families are disgraced, but they're given no new ground to stand on, so they dig into the old hatred because it's the only foundation they have left.
I encouraged her to write. It was the only outlet I could find for her. She has no friends or family, but she has a sharp mind, and I thought if she could pour the poison onto the page, she might not have to carry it in her heart. I never thought she would use it as a weapon in front of the Fire Lord.
I will handle it. I don’t know how, but I will.
Mai
Poetry Class Assignment: Im Daeok
The Song of the Severed Tongue
They trapped the hawk for its fierce gaze,
And for its talons, sharp and strong.
They could not bear its gentle phrase,
So they cut out its tender song.
Now it shrieks the cry they taught,
A sound to make the sparrowkeets flee.
It is the only thing they bought,
The only self that it can see.
Letter 16
From: Royal Fire Academy for Girls, Assistant Headmistress’s Office
To: His Imperial Majesty, Fire Lord Zuko
Your Majesty,
It appears your Excellency’s visit had an unintended side effect.
Daeok has stopped talking. She has, for three full days, neglected her duties as the self-appointed official commentator on the Fire Nation's moral decay - a role that had become as integral to our classroom routine as the scraping of inksticks at the start of a lesson.
She also wrote a new poem, which, to my dismay, was not an ode to "The Final Conflagration." It is a piece in the style of the old masters the likes of our fathers called 'decadent' - all raw emotion and personal vulnerability. The same as in the books she used to hide from me in the garden, convinced I would burn them like her parents did. She once called that discipline, but her recent poem describes it as it is: a small, domestic tyranny.
I'm almost afraid to ask what profound piece of Fire Lord wisdom finally managed to penetrate that particular fortress; though, it seems the key to managing the volatile teenage mind is not pedagogy, but a timely visit from a young, good-looking Fire Lord with commendable hair and a strong jawline. The education ministry should take note. We could solve all our disciplinary issues if you just made the rounds of every school in the nation.
A suggestion for your schedule.
Assistant Headmistress Nobara Mai
Letter 17
From: The Office of the Fire Lord
To: The Office of the Assistant Headmistress, Royal Fire Academy for Girls
Mai,
I don't
I wasn't
I would never use my... Agni, my jawline to influence a student. That's not... Kiyi's friends were there. They started talking. I didn't know how to leave, so I just listened and talked to them. Trying to be like a normal family member, I guess.
What I told Daeok wasn't some profound wisdom. I just said that my forefathers’ strong, simple decisions she admires usually involve setting something on fire without thinking about the ugly consequences. And that now I have to face them every day. It's my job. It's a terrible job. But someone has to do it, and apparently, it's me.
But it was you who found her. You saw what was really going on. You didn't take the books away, but gave her a way to use them - even when she was using it against you. That's... that's what actually helped her. Not whatever I said. So, stop doubting it. You're an amazing teacher and a leader, exactly what those girls need.
Speaking of strong-willed individuals who spit… my Ministry of Trade is holding the new Earth Kingdom grain treaty hostage. They say the terms are "an insult to Fire Nation pride" and refuse to sign unless we add impossible tariffs. It’s the same stubbornness, just with more paperwork. My first instinct was to slam my hand on the table and yell that he will obey his Fire Lord. I could almost feel the heat in my palm. But I didn't. Because that's what my father would have done, so now I am just sitting there having no idea what to do.
You’re good at this. At handling… volatile dispositions. What would you do? If he were a student in your academy, what’s the lesson plan?
Zuko
Letter 18
From: Royal Fire Academy for Girls, Assistant Headmistress’s Office
To: His Imperial Majesty, Fire Lord Zuko
Fire Lord Zuko,
An "amazing teacher and a leader"? Careful. If word gets out, you’re handing out compliments, people might think Aang has snatched you and replaced by a particularly charming spirit. And sitting on your hands to avoid setting a table on fire? That’s… unexpectedly mature of you. My congratulations.
As for your donkey-mules of ministers, of course I know what to do. You don't fight the stubbornness, you redirect it. But state secrets - even pathetically obvious ones - have a price.
My price is a garden. Not for botany. A proper, private one with a pavilion for tea and quiet reflection. You can name it after your uncle if you like. The girls need a place that isn't a dormitory or a classroom to just... be. And frankly, so do I. And before you accuse me of seeking a life of quiet luxury, consider it a tactical investment in diplomatic relations. I am far more likely to speak favorably of your administration to influential parents when I am surrounded by apple-cherry blossoms instead of history essays that need grading.
So, here is the deal, Your Majesty. You encourage the Board to approve the garden budget, and I will provide the lesson plan for taming your minister. I trust my terms are… agreeable.
I await your edict.
Mai
P.S. A development you should be aware of: Daeok has apparently sworn off political critique. She is now, and I quote, "dedicating her brush to a loftier subject." Every assignment I receive from her - including her math homework - is now a series of increasingly elaborate couplets about a certain Fire Lord's noble brow. I hope you're happy. You've created a monster. A hopelessly lovestruck, entirely unproductive monster.
Letter 19
From: The Office of the Fire Lord
To: The Office of the Assistant Headmistress, Royal Fire Academy for Girls
Mai,
This is blatant bribery. If my secretary saw this letter, he'd have the Royal Guard dragging you back to the Boiling Rock before I could even finish my afternoon tea. You'd be cellmates with a traitorous kitchen maid who replaced the sugar in my mango pudding with a potent sleeping powder, hoping I'd doze off and drown in the pudding bowl. This is what you've reduced me to. I am now actively undermining the integrity of my own office for the sake of shrubbery.
…
Fine. The garden is approved. I’ll have the funds and the official endorsement for the "Iroh Memorial Pavilion of Diplomatic Relations and Un-Graded Tests" sent to the Board by tomorrow. Agni help me.
Now, please, save me from my own government. What do I do about these ministers?
Zuko
P.S. And about Daeok - this is your fault. You're the one who called me 'good-looking' in official correspondence. If you must break her heart, mention that I sometimes snore like a wounded hog-bear. That should help.
Letter 20
From: Royal Fire Academy for Girls, Assistant Headmistress’s Office
To: His Imperial Majesty, Fire Lord Zuko
Zuko,
If I'm destined for the Boiling Rock, I demand a cell with a view. And perhaps a commemorative plaque: "Here resided Mai, who once saved a Fire Lord's life and was later imprisoned for saving him from his own ministers." The irony would be so thick you could build a new wall with it.
As for your lesson plan, you're thinking like a firebender, all direct force. Think like a noblewoman. The minister is just the piece on the board. The real player - the one who controls the board - is his wife. And her social calendar is where the real politics happen.
Attached is a list of the charitable foundations the ministers' wives use as their personal fashion runways and gossip exchanges. The "Orphaned Turtle-Duck Sanctuary" is particularly fashionable this season. The funding for these comes directly from the royal treasury.
Your move is simple. The next time a minister obstructs you, have your secretary casually inquire if the Fire Lord should perhaps "re-evaluate the efficiency of all royal charitable endowments." He will fold before you finish your tea. They would rather swallow hot coals than let their wives be unable to show off their new outfits, regardless of how objectively hideous the current fashion dictates happen to be.
Your problem isn't politics. It's accessorizing.
Mai
P.S. I will not be telling Daeok about your snoring. Some things are too… precious to weaponize. If you must derail her poetic fervor, simply have one of your clerks leak the news that your private, after-hours viewing of the Ember Island Players' latest production was "Love Among the Dragons II: The Roar of a Thousand Heartbeats." A girl with her refined literary tastes would find its vulgar sentimentality so artistically offensive, it would likely cure her infatuation on the spot.
Letter 21
From: The Office of the Fire Lord
To: The Office of the Assistant Headmistress, Royal Fire Academy for Girls
Mai,
It worked. It was terrifying. You're terrifying. I'm never going to look at a charitable foundation the same way again. Minister Megat signed the treaty without a word of argument and then had the audacity to ask if I thought the pale-yellow silk or the coral would better suit his wife’s complexion for the upcoming "Annual Gala for the Preservation of the Fire Nation's Historical Doorknockers" I felt a profound and unsettling power in that moment. I also felt the need to take a very long bath.
Sometimes I think this job would be easier if I just had… I mean, having someone who… What I’m trying to say is that I could use a… a confidant. Someone with that kind of cleverness, who could just be here. To give smart advice. And to stop me from setting important documents on fire. Accidentally.
Anyway, I’ve heard the garden work has begun. Kiyi wrote to me. A very dramatic letter, actually. She claims she’s being "emotionally neglected" and that you’re spending all your time managing the "poetic fervor" of a certain other student. She’s demanding a formal visit to stage a protest over what she calls the "gross misallocation of your attention."
So.
Would it be… acceptable? If I visited? To see her. I wouldn’t just… show up. I remember. I wouldn’t make that mistake again. I could see the garden’s progress. And you could… could be there too. If you wanted to, of course.
Zuko
Letter 22
From: Royal Fire Academy for Girls, Assistant Headmistress’s Office
To: His Imperial Majesty, Fire Lord Zuko
Zuko,
So, the great Minister Megat was brought to heel by the threat to his wife’s wardrobe. I’ll add "fashion critic" to my list of administrative skills. Next time, suggest orange. Let his wife wander the Gala looking like a diseased persimmon-apple – a fitting reward for wasting your time.
And yes, I can see how having a confidant who understands the difference between a strategic retreat and a temper tantrum might be… useful. For you. It’s a full-time job preventing a Fire Lord from setting his own legacy on fire. Accidentally.
Speaking of volatile partnerships, your sister’s jealousy is misdirected. It is my instructors, who are so devoted to the old Fire Academy model of "sow enmity, harvest results" that they've decided Kiyi and Daeok are the new great dichotomy. They see Kiyi’s loud, straightforward bluster and Daeok’s quiet, overthinking reticence and think, "What perfect rivals," and heedlessly pit them against each other. They think they’re forging strength, but all they're accomplishing is making Kiyi more impulsive and Daeok more withdrawn. At this rate, I'll have one student in the infirmary and another one collecting dust in the library. A fantastic return on our investment.
Perhaps you could demonstrate the alternative. If a certain someone with a history of charging headfirst into danger could show Kiyi the value of a little forethought, and a certain someone who used to overthink every single emotion could show Daeok the merit of occasional, decisive action, it might be more instructive than any of my lectures. They might even stop being such a pain to manage separately and become one slightly less annoying problem to manage together. One can dream.
So yes. Your request is acceptable. You may visit. Next week, during the afternoon recess time. You can witness this tedious little play for yourself. And you can see your garden.
I will, of course, be there.
Mai
P.S. Bring sugar-coated lychee berries. The Board is conducting a forensic audit of the previous headmistress's 'snack-based expenditures' and the resulting shortage is a crisis only you can solve.
Letter 23
From: The Office of the Fire Lord
To: The Office of the Assistant Headmistress, Royal Fire Academy for Girls
Mai,
The garden is... quiet. Not an empty quiet, but a full one. For the first time all week, I couldn't hear the ministers arguing in my head. Uncle would have loved it there.
I tried. With Kiyi and Daeok. I told them about the time I hired pirates to help me capture the Avatar. I had the waterbending scroll, I had his friends, I thought I had everything under control. Then Sokka opened his mouth and my entire plan fell apart in ten seconds because I hadn't considered that the criminals I hired would, you know, act like criminals. Kiyi laughed at me. A lot. But Daeok… I’m not sure if it worked. She just averted her gaze the whole time and when she tried to speak, it was just… hiccups. Is that a good sign? Is that how thoughtful, quiet girls show they're upset... or... not upset? You, of all people, would know I was never any good at reading them.
And your students. Agni, they’re terrifying. In a good way. One girl intercepted me with a heavily annotated scroll, asking if I was aware that serving pickled sea-prunes with ginger at diplomatic banquets with Southern Water Tribe creates a "conflicting flavor profile" that "undermines the symbolic clarity of the dish." She offered to draft a formal correction to the Office of the Royal Chef. I was afraid to put a lychee in my mouth in front of her for the rest of the day. A pair of them were debating, quite passionately, whether the palace's main gates are a sufficient security risk to warrant the installation of a hidden, trebuchet-powered net. They asked for my opinion on the ideal trigger mechanism. What are their names? I feel like I should have their files forwarded to the Royal Guard when they graduate.
And… thank you for actually coming. For standing there, letting them swarm me with their questions, with that small smile on your face like it was all perfectly normal. You were just… there. I wouldn't have blamed you if you'd decided not to be after the things I’d said in my first letter. I was wrong. I see how much you care. I’m sorry I forgot that, even for a minute.
Zuko
P.S. I’m having another crate of sugar-coated lychee berries delivered to the academy. Consider the crisis temporarily stabilized. My treasury minister has developed a nervous twitch.
Letter 24
From: Royal Fire Academy for Girls, Assistant Headmistress’s Office
To: His Imperial Majesty, Fire Lord Zuko
Zuko,
Perhaps you should have spent less time brooding in draughty palace corridors and more time in gardens. It seems to be a much more effective cure for anger issues than I ever was.
Regarding Daeok’s hiccups: obviously, it’s a good sign. You should be familiar with the concept - if I recall correctly, the primary method of communicating with a certain prince used to involve a lot of strategic blinking and looking at my shoes. Hiccups are practically a marriage proposal in comparison.
As for your new admirers:
The girl with the scroll is Qing’er. She possesses the uncanny ability to detect if the lunch rice was undercooked by precisely two minutes. She is a menace to my kitchen staff and the sole reason our food quality is now exceptional. The sisters debating your palace’s structural integrity are Hoa and Huong. Their mother is the third-generation Shenyan fortress commander. Armories were their playgrounds, and their mother’s bedtime stories were tactical reports. She calls them "my little cannonballs." Their future commissions are practically pre-forged.
Stop apologizing for that first letter. It was deserved. My text was a petty, deliberate jab, and you took it. You didn’t set it on fire or barged into my office demanding a formal apology, you just… grumbled, and let me do my job. It was infuriatingly mature of you.
And for the record, I wasn’t smiling. You were just hallucinating from a sugar overdose from the lychee berries.
…You can come back anytime you want.
Mai
Letter 25
From: Kyoshi Island, Kyoshi Warriors Compound
To: The Office of the Assistant Headmistress, Royal Fire Academy for Girls
Maiiiii!!!!!
I got your letter! I’m SO happy for you! I always knew you’d be amazing with kids, you know? You were always so patient when I’d do cartwheels in your mansion’s hallways and you never actually threw a knife at me, even that one time I knocked over that super ugly vase! I always pictured you with, like, a dozen kids of your own one day, just sighing at all the chaos but secretly loving it. And look at you now! You basically are! A mother to a whole academy! It’s perfect!
Things are so great here! The locals are finally used to me, I think. They don’t stare anymore when I do handstands in the market. Oh! And guess what? Bikki and I broke up. It was so sad. But it had to happen. He sneezed during a really important meditation session and it totally broke my chakra flow. I just knew it wouldn’t work. But it’s okay!! This guy named Kamui, who’s a fisherman (he has REALLY strong forearms, it’s impressive), already sent me a whole basket of camelia-lotuses! They smell a little fishy, but it’s the thought that counts, right?
Suki and I were just talking about how you two deal with the same kind of problems - her with her new Kyoshi recruits, you with your academy girls. It got me thinking... if you're both solving the same puzzle, maybe the pieces are the same too! We had this super fun idea to invite you and your students here! A friendship exchange! Your girls and our new Kyoshi Warriors could train together! They'd see that being strong and disciplined isn't just a Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom thing. Please, please say you'll come! We can do each other's hair and everything!
Write back soon!
Lots and lots of love and light!
Ty Lee ⋆˙⟡♡
P.S. Do you think Zuko would come too? He always looks so tense in his portraits. He needs a beach vacation!
Letter 26
From: Royal Fire Academy for Girls, Assistant Headmistress’s Office
To: His Imperial Majesty, Fire Lord Zuko
Zuko,
I’m starting to think your lychee berry shipments are less about stabilizing our crisis and more about founding academic corruption. The academy's black market is now exclusively lychee-based. I intercepted a note detailing a payment of 'fifteen prime berries' for a completed literature assignment.
On a more substantive note, Ty Lee and Suki have extended an invitation. They’re proposing a cultural exchange: my students and their young Kyoshi warriors in training. I’ve accepted.
Before you start picturing a diplomatic incident, consider the benefits. Girls like Daeok, whose only education about the other nations comes from their parents’ war stories, see the Earth Kingdom as a monolith of ruthless soldiers and enemies. Letting them meet girls their own age, who braid their hair, and giggle, and probably also have crushes on boys with strong jaws, will do more to dismantle that inherited spite than a hundred of my history lessons ever could. It’s harder to hate someone when you’ve shared lychee berries with them.
Politically, it’s even smarter. Kyoshi Island remained neutral. They don’t hold the same visceral grudges as the Earth Kingdom mainland. Establishing a direct, friendly relationship with them creates a trusted partner who could eventually mediate our more… contentious negotiations with Earth King Kuei. A nation that isn’t constantly threatening tariffs or reconsidering grain deals is a rare asset. This is how we build a stable peace, Zuko - with shared blisters from training and traded tips on how to style bangs in humid weather.
I'm informing you as a courtesy. And because Ty Lee insisted, I invite you. She seems to believe your jawline could also use a vacation from being permanently clenched.
Mai
Letter 27
From: The Office of the Fire Lord
To: The Office of the Assistant Headmistress, Royal Fire Academy for Girls
Mai,
No.
You are not going to Kyoshi Island.
It’s not… Agni, it’s not about Ty Lee or Suki. I know they’re your friends. And it’s not about you not being able to handle yourself. I know you can.
The point is that it’s not safe. Just last month, a delegation of Caldera women - nobles' wives, philanthropists, they just wanted to build an orphanage in Huoli Province - they were run out of the Earth Kingdom by an angry mob. They had to flee for their lives over a charity project.
Do you understand what that means? The peace is still fragile. One argument, one stupid mistake, and it could all fall apart. And you'd be right in the middle of it, and… and… I can’t. I won’t. I will not have you… I won’t have you put in that position. I won’t risk it. The answer is no.
Zuko
Letter 28
From: Royal Fire Academy for Girls, Assistant Headmistress’s Office
To: His Imperial Majesty, Fire Lord Zuko
Fire Lord Zuko,
How kind of you to be so concerned for my safety. It’s almost believable. But let’s not coat this in sugar. We both know it’s the same thing it’s always been: you simply don’t trust me.
The first time, you favored a written note over a conversation, certain I was too shallow to comprehend your crisis of conscience. The next time, you made me a stranger in your own court, because you didn't believe I could handle your burdens. And now, after everything, you look at the position I have earned and the work I have done, and you still see someone whose judgment is so flawed that she needs to be commanded like a child.
Congratulations. The performance is over. I am no longer auditioning for the role of "Trustworthy Confidant" in the tragic opera of your life.
And for the record: educational trips do not fall under the purview of the Crown. I am going to Kyoshi Island. Your opinion on the matter has as much weight as Kiyi's petition to feed the academy unlimited lychee berries for every meal.
Do not write to me again unless it is a matter of absolute state necessity.
I order you to leave me alone.
Mai
Letter 29
From: Aboard the SS Flaming Falcon-kite, en route to Kyoshi Island
To: Kyoshi Island, Kyoshi Warriors Compound
Ty Lee,
Thank you for the invitation. I know it must have taken you and Suki considerable effort to convince your village elders to host a pack of Fire Nation girls. I hope it’s worth the trouble.
This trip is a disaster. The ship hasn't stopped swaying since we left port. Daeok is so seasick she's turned a shade of green that would make the Earth King's palace look beige in comparison. She can barely lift her head, so I’ve been stuck in her cabin making sure she doesn’t stop breathing. Meanwhile, the rest of the students are using their newfound freedom to test the structural integrity of the ship. I had to physically pull one of the girls off the ship's wheel after she decided to "test the helm's responsiveness." Another was caught trying to bribe the deckhand for gunpowder, claiming she needed it for a "chemistry experiment." They’re feral.
And before you ask, no, Zuko isn’t coming. He made that abundantly clear. He... I asked him directly. The truth is, before this, we'd been writing. To each other. For months. Stupid, long letters about... about everything. And I… Agni, I actually thought it meant something. I thought he finally saw me as an equal, that he... trusted me. What a joke. I stood against Azula, faced the very ghosts from our childhood stories that used to make me hide under the covers, bent over backwards proving my loyalty, my capability, my worth, over and over again.
I’m done. If this ship goes down and I drown, do me a favor. Tell the next generation of Fire Nation girls about the Assistant Headmistress who was clever enough to run an academy but too stupid to stop seeking a man’s approval. Let my failure be their lesson.
If I make it out alive, try to have something stronger than tea waiting.
Mai
Letter 30
From: Kyoshi Island, Kyoshi Warriors Compound
To: The Office of the Assistant Headmistress, Royal Fire Academy for Girls (Forwarded to the SS Flaming Falcon-kite)
Maiii!!!
You're coming!! I'm doing cartwheels on the beach just thinking about it! Well, I was, until Suki said I was kicking sand on the new recruits. Oops!
Don't worry about Daeok! The first time I tried the flying trapeze I got so dizzy I vomited all over the clown troupe below me (they were super nice about it though, and they even cleverly used it in their performance, so it all worked out.) What helped me was chewing a piece of ginger root while standing on your head! It reverses your inner ear fluids! Or was it sniffing a salted plum? I forget, but we can try both when you get here!
And OH MY SPIRITS! You and Zuko were writing to each other for MONTHS?! That’s so romantic! It’s like your stars were finally aligning across the Caldera!
He was a total jerk, don't get me wrong. He deserves to be pouted at for at LEAST a week! But... Maybe you should find out why Zuko's aura got so spiky and fearful? And if the reason isn't totally horrible, you should think of a really good way for him to make it up to you, and then you can forgive him like I did with Bikki! I thought he was mocking my reverence for spiritual energy, but it turns out he was just super allergic to the moonpoppy essence I’ve been adding to my Kyoshi makeup to make it glow. And when he saw me at the fair with Kamui, his energy got all sour, and he finally apologized and vowed to bring me a month supply of moonpoppies even if it makes him suffocate in the process! So you see? People make mistakes for weird reasons!
Can't wait to see you! We'll fix Daeok and think about all the super romantic ways Zuko could make it up to you! He should write you a poem! Or maybe he could learn to juggle for you! Ooooh, or he could commission a giant statue of you for the academy gardens, looking all stoic and majestic!
Lots of love and light!
Ty Lee ⋆˚✿˖°
P.S. And thank you for reminding me about the Kemurikage! When I found out Zuko went to check for ghosts under your bed for you - like a noble prince in a story! - instead of laughing like Azula wanted... I squealed into my pillow all night and kept her awake! She was so grumpy the next morning!
Letter 31
From: The Office of the Fire Lord
To: Kyoshi Island, Kyoshi Warriors Compound
Ty Lee,
I know you've heard from Mai and probably as furious at me as she is, but please, don't burn this letter or feed it to a turtle-seal or wipe… do other degrading things. Just read it.
Mai has always been... my opposite, my mirror, able to pull the best and the worst things out of me. A small push or a guiding word from her, and I feel like I can actually be the ruler our nation deserves - honorable, wise, and strong in the right way - after a century of tyranny and fear. And now, she made me so terrified of failing her that I become the controlling, angry person I was always afraid I'd become. I don't know how to be someone she needs without also being someone she hates. Maybe I just can't. Maybe we aren’t meant to be together at all.
But I need to know she’s okay. I can’t stand not knowing. Her official reports list sleeping bag counts and expense ledgers. They don’t tell me if she’s safe. Or happy. If you could send a single sentence - a note saying ‘she hasn’t drowned’ or ‘she isn’t skipping her meals’ or ‘her aura has a tint of yellow’ (whatever it means) - just so I know.
I’m begging you to bear with me.
Zuko
P.S. And do you possibly have an idea why the captain of the Royal Fleet now insists the SS Flaming Falcon-kite needs a complete hull renovation?
Letter 32
From: Kyoshi Island, Kyoshi Warriors Compound
To: The Office of the Fire Lord
Zuko,
Your letter is safe with me! Well, it has a few glue stains and lots of glitter on it now because I was making improvements to my Kyoshi Warrior outfit nearby. But it makes your handwriting look all festive and magical, which is much better than sad!
Mai is… well, she’s Mai! When she first got here, her aura was all purple and black, especially around her jaw... or was that a bruise? On hindsight, I saw some of the girls had similar shadows on their arms, and maybe that freckled girl's bangs weren't meant to be styled that way, but got a little... singed? Hmmm, what could that be? Anyway, after a good night's sleep and a little fire whiskey with me and Suki, her aura stabilized to its usual cool, silvery-gray.
The girls are keeping her busy, which is perfect! Kiyi, of course, made friends with everyone instantly. It was so sweet! Right up until she announced her plan to "tame the Unagi just like Avatar Aang did." We found her halfway to the bay with a rope and a bucket of fish. Mai didn't even sigh; she just plucked her up by the tunic collar and carted her back to the dorm like a misbehaving croco-cat. Then Daeok vanished after lunch. Just as panic was setting in, Mai appeared, marched up to Suki, and asked in that deadpan way of hers, "A simple question. Do you have libraries here? Or archives?" Sure enough, in the reliquary, we found Daeok covered in a century's worth of dust. She looked up with huge, bleary eyes and whispered, "The script is archaic, but I'm close. I believe I can decipher the personal notes of Rangi Sei'naka." She's a mess, but she's our brilliant, happy mess!
And you two saying you’re opposites who are meant to fall apart is SO STUPID. You’re not opposites! You’re the same! You're both 'all or nothing' people, and you just don't know what to do with the 'in-between' stuff. On one hand, it's what made your childhood romance last all these years. To see something perfect in each other and never let go... I'm a little jealous of a love that stubborn. But it’s also why you fight so much. You expect your love to be as perfect as your ideal, and when you’re both just… messy people who make mistakes, you don’t know what to do! Look at me and my new-old-new boyfriend! He brings me moonpoppies even though they make him sneeze so much he almost passes out. And I accept them even though they're all covered in his sneezes because I see he means well. It's simple! You just have to see the good intention, even if the execution is a bit untidy!
So stop being so intense and just be a simple, messy person for a minute! It’s way more fun!
Lots of love and light (and less purple auras)!
Ty Lee ⋆˙⟡
Letter 33
From: The Office of the Fire Lord
To: Kyoshi Island, Kyoshi Warriors Compound
Ty Lee,
I need you to tell me if I’m going insane.
I was walking past the ministers' antechamber today. The door was ajar. I heard Minister Liao’s voice. He said, "…my daughter’s latest letter. It seems the Assistant Headmistress has received a most… earnest proposal from a local farmer. Quite the romantic turn of events, don’t you think? A swift courtship, but apparently quite sincere."
I kept walking. I don’t think they saw me. The rest was just muted, speculative chatter.
"Earnest proposal." "Swift courtship."
Ty Lee, what in Agni’s name is happening over there?
After everything I did, if she’s accepted a proposal, I have no right to complain. But this… this doesn’t sound like Mai. Since when does she have a "swift courtship"? Since when does she make life-altering decisions in the span of a few weeks?
My mind is conjuring a hundred stupid pictures. Is she doing this to prove she’s moved on? Is she in some kind of trouble? Is this farmer some… some quietly profound man who convinced her in a handful of days?
Please, Ty Lee. Just find out if she's truly chosen this, or if she's just chosen to be someone she's not.
Zuko
Letter 34
From: Kyoshi Island, Kyoshi Warriors Compound
To: The Office of the Fire Lord
ZUKO!!!
You are the smartest dumb person I have ever met! How can you run a nation and still believe everything stuffy old ministers say?! I almost did a backflip out of frustration when I got your letter!
Okay, take a deep breath. Here is the truth.
The "earnest proposal" was from a boy named Oki. He’s SIX. He is from a little millet farm, and he follows Mai around because he thinks she’s the most beautiful, mysterious lady he’s ever seen. He gave her a lovingly wrapped, very melted piece of honey candy, and asked her to marry him.
And yes, your brilliant, calculating, ever-practical Mai accepted his proposal.
Well, she said, and I quote, "I'll reconsider your proposal in ten years, provided you can demonstrate a consistent record of eating all your vegetables and completing your chores without complaint."
She was being NICE, Zuko! She was making a little boy's whole life! He walked away practically floating, and now he’s the only six-year-old on Kyoshi Island who voluntarily eats kale-broccoli unless it’s been cooked more than an hour ago. His mother wants to nominate Mai for Kyoshi’s Council of Elders.
Now stop listening at doors and use all that paranoid energy to send us some lychee berries instead!
Lots of love and light (and a little bit of face-palming)!
Ty Lee!!!! ₊˚⊹♡
P.S. I told Mai you heard the rumor. She didn't say anything. She just raised one eyebrow so high I think it almost flew off her face. But you know what? She didn't get that cold, sharp look she gets when she's really mad. She almost looked... amused. I think your chances are better than that six-year-old's, at least!
Letter 35
From: The Office of the Fire Lord
To: Kyoshi Island, Kyoshi Warriors Compound
Ty Lee,
Please feel free to burn my last letter. Or feed it to the turtle-seals. In fact, I'm begging you to eliminate it in the most degrading way you can think of. I’ve never been more ashamed of being such a… well, me.
But your reply was the best possible remedy for my stupidity. The thought of Mai being proposed to with a piece of candy by a six-year-old who eats his vegetables is the most perfect and humbling image I could have ever received. It did more than just clear up a ridiculous rumor. It made me realize I’ve been stuck inside my own head, just… feeling things, instead of doing anything. You were right. I need to be useful.
I remembered something Mai wrote once, about how peace is built with shared lychee berries and traded beauty rituals. So, I decided to start there. I formally summoned the Chief Royal Handmade to ask about anti-frizz solutions. I think she believed I was delirious and attempted checking my temperature. The resulting gossip was so intense that the Ember Island Players have already announced a new comedy: "The Frizz Lord." But I nobly endured the whispers and the deeply concerned looks.
The result is a cargo ship that should be arriving soon. It’s carrying a truly obscene amount of lychee berries and several barrels of rose-camelia hair oil. I had to officially task Inspector Mita’s office with the delivery, as he’s the head of the education board. Part of me worries that giving a man who so clearly despises Mai's methods any oversight of this project is a mistake, that he'll find a way to use it to undermine her authority. Please, just be careful, and make sure it actually gets to her and the girls.
Zuko
P.S. If you see the six-year-old, tell him I’m… stiff competition. Spirits, I can’t believe I just wrote that.
Letter 36
From: Kyoshi Island, Kyoshi Warriors Compound
To: The Office of the Fire Lord
Zuko!
YAY! I'm so proud of you! That's the Zuko I remember - the one who actually does things! Brooding is so last season, action is totally in!
Okay, so the ship arrived! I told Mai the cargo was your idea. She let out this little huff, but I could see the corner of her mouth twitch. She said, and I quote, "Please secure me a front-row seat when "The Frizz Lord" premieres." Then she walked away, and I swear her shoulders were shaking from trying not to laugh. She's been in a scarily good mood ever since! She didn't even blink yesterday when she caught Qing’er and the Kyoshi recruits accidentally creating a toxic smoke cloud in the kitchen while trying to fuse Fire Nation spices with local dumpling weed. Mai just said, "At least they're attempting diplomacy," and walked off!
Also, after your last letter, Mai and I were totally expecting some stuffy, arrogant official sent by Inspector Mita to spy on us. But we got lady Nijo instead! She’s a historian, and she’s actually really nice and knowledgeable, not snobby at all. She’s been so respectful, asking the Kyoshi Warriors politely if she could see the reliquary and listening so intently to all their stories about the artifacts. She's particularly fascinated by Kyoshi's personal guards and has been studying the reliquary's scrolls every day. She even asked Daeok to help her cross-reference some Fire Nation genealogies with the Kyoshi records, specifically about a firebender named Rangi. Our Fire Nation girls adore her, especially Daeok -finally, a grown-up who gets as excited about old scrolls as she does!
The lychee berries are like gold here. There was almost a diplomatic incident over who got the first handful. So, Suki and I had a genius idea! We're using the rest of the supply as the grand prize for the first annual Kyoshi-Fire Academy Friendship Games! The Kyoshi recruits will be one team and the Fire Nation Academy girls the other! They'll have to compete as unified teams to win the berry bounty! It's going to be so much fun!
So, your plan is working! Peace, teamwork, and less frizz! You're a natural at this!
Lots of love and victorious energy!
Ty Lee ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆
P.S. I told Oki (the 6-year-old) what you said. He looked very serious and said, "I can eat two helpings of kale-broccoli." I think he's upping his game!
Letter 37
From: Kyoshi Island, Kyoshi Recruits’ barracks
To: The Office of the Fire Lord
Dear Older Fire Lord Brother,
You have to come to Kyoshi Island. Everything is ruined and I think you were wrong about Sifu Mai.
She doesn't know how to fix things, she just makes them... complicated. Like with the students’ Agni Kais. She never banned the fights, she just added essays, so all we have now is a debate club where everyone's still angry but uses big fancy words! And the time when that new girl kept talking back to her and doing as she pleased, Sifu made her a class prefect to "channel her command." Now she's always on patrol, scolding everyone for the tiniest things, like whispering or picking your nose! Sifu Mai doesn't stop people from being awful, she just makes it official!
And it’s the same with the girls whose families were… you know. Like Daeok. Instead of showing how everything about her is horrible and wrong, Sifu Mai just let her be and write those creepy poems about strong fires and burning stuff, and said it's "art." It's not art, it's mean! Sifu let her believe that old way was okay if it was clever. She encouraged her!
Today, Daeok stood up in front of everyone - all the Kyoshi girls we'd finally started being friends with - and she lashed out at them. She said their traditions were stupid. She sounded just like the bad parts of the history scrolls. She said we were all being collectively shamed and that it was unjust, and she was so proud and nasty about it. And now the Kyoshi girls won't even look at us. They think we're all like that, that we haven't changed at all.
All my new friends hate me now. Please, you have to come and help us. You're the Fire Lord. Make them see we're not all monsters.
Your sister,
Kiyi
P.S. I'm never speaking to Sifu Mai again.
Letter 38
From: Kyoshi Island, Kyoshi Warriors Compound
To: The Office of the Fire Lord
Zuko,
I'm writing about a serious incident on the island. Kiyi has probably already sent word, but you should hear the full story from me.
It started after the final games. My warriors won, and there was some teasing about teamwork - one of them joked that "a Kyoshi team is a woven rope, and a Fire Nation team is a bundle of loose sticks." It was just post-game chatter, and Mai and I thought it was harmless. We were wrong.
This morning, a sacred Kyoshi artifact went missing - an antique war fan. In the confusion, one of my junior recruits lost her head and suggested searching Academy students' things, calling it revenge for the loss.
That's when your student, Daeok, stood up. She gave a speech, cool as anything, about how our way of handling blame as a group is "primitive and unjust." She praised the Fire Nation's focus on individual merit. She used logic, but her tone was pure ice. It was a direct insult to our community's values, delivered in front of everyone.
Mai and I broke it up immediately, but the damage was done. My warriors are insulted. The community is outraged. Your students are fractured - Kiyi's anger is aimed at Daeok and Mai, while others now see Mai's leadership as a betrayal of our national identity.
Mai is holding it together, but I can see this is cutting her deep. To see her own students, throw her care back in her face like that… it’s breaking her heart. She would never show it, but it is. We are back to where we started, but now it's worse. We'll keep working on it, but I wanted you to know the situation is bad.
Suki
Letter 39
From: Kyoshi Island, The Council of Elders
To: The Office of the Fire Lord
Your Majesty,
We write with grave news.
After the games, a sacred fan of Avatar Kyoshi went missing. In the arguing that followed, the student Im Daeok stood and publicly declared our traditions to be barbaric and unfair. Her words were an insult to every person on this island.
The matter grew worse. Your sister Kiyi found the fan hidden in Daeok's chest. She brought it to us. We went to your students' barracks to question the girl. The girl was trembling and weeping so hard she couldn’t get a word out. Lady Mai took all the blame, saying it was her fault alone. She wouldn’t let us question the child while she was like that.
But the insult has already landed. Our people will not trade with Fire Nation merchants now. They have gone back to their ships. There will be no more talks.
The trust we were building has been cracked.
Ayai
Head of the Council of Elders
Letter 40
From: Kyoshi Island, Kyoshi Warriors Compound
To: The Office of the Fire Lord
Your Majesty,
Please accept my resignation from the position of Assistant Headmistress, a role for which I have proven fundamentally unsuited.
My leadership has resulted in a diplomatic crisis that has undone years of hard work. The students under my care are fractured and shamed. I will remain only until a replacement can be found to manage the dissolution of the exchange program, but once the diplomatic relations with Kyoshi Island are stabilized, I will relinquish all my titles and status, cut my hair and disappear. It is the only amends I can make.
This is my final report.
Nobara Mai
Letter 41
From: The Office of the Fire Lord
To: Kyoshi Island, Kyoshi Warriors Compound
Mai,
Please, just listen. I know what it's like to be so certain of your own failure that you can't see anything else. You asked me to trust you. Now I'm asking you to do the same. To trust yourself.
And that starts with getting your footing back. Just do this for me, please. Get some sleep, eat a proper meal, then be my brilliant, practical, quick-witted Mai again and look at this with the unflinching honesty that has always been your greatest strength.
I am here. I believe in you. I always have.
Zuko
Letter 42
From: Kyoshi Island, Kyoshi Warriors Compound
To: The Office of the Fire Lord
Zuko,
You told me to be honest. So I will be. Accepting this post was my first and gravest error. I was arrogant. I had no model for what I was trying to build, only the one I was trying to escape.
From our first day at the Academy, the teachers filled our heads with stories of our counterparts of old who died for the Fire Nation, training us to measure our own lives against their ghosts and always find ourselves wanting. When my father was appointed governor of Omashu, my mother informed me that my new purpose was to marry well. Not for love, or even for desire: I was to be a transaction, a link between my father’s status and another man’s ambition. We were raised to believe that our value was a commodity, a prize to be won in a game of politics and power we never asked to play.
So, when I first saw my students roam around with their bug nets - truly playing, without fear of being judged unworthy of this simple joy - I thought I had found the answer. I would build a world for them where they felt inherently valuable. Where they could resolve conflicts with words, not by proving who was more willing to destroy themselves for a scrap of approval. I was wrong. The world I built was just a darker version of the old one. I gave them new tools, and they used them as better weapons. I encouraged cooperation, and they found more vicious ways to compete.
They are fortunate my failure revealed itself now, and not later. The first step to mending this is for me to remove the cause.
Mai
Letter 43
From: The Office of the Fire Lord
To: Kyoshi Island, Kyoshi Warriors Compound
Mai,
Please, I want you to see this from where I'm standing.
We are dealing with teenagers – creatures who are always angry about something, and when they're not, they're either asleep or eating. And our Fire Nation teenagers? They carry a legacy of guilt and shame that was forced upon them. They have to deal with the mess they were born into, even though they didn't make it. We cannot prevent that. Our job is to guide these kids through this. Help them carry it so the weight doesn't crush them.
The fact that this happened now, under this pressure, is proof that you have been that for them. You created a safe haven where even the most troubled students feel they can speak their hurt aloud, however misguided. There is no bitter, silent scheming. There is hurt and anger out in the open for everyone to see. That doesn't mean you failed. It means they trust you.
So I am begging you. Be the leader I know you are. Do not just take the blame. Investigate. What was the final weight that made everything break? Find it. I know you can.
Zuko
Letter 44
From: Kyoshi Island, Kyoshi Warriors Compound
To: Cranefish Town, the Avatar Residence
Avatar Aang,
I hope this letter finds you well, and that you haven't had to mediate any new international incidents recently, as it looks like I appear to have single-handedly arranged one for you. You'll be pleased to know it was achieved not with an army, but through the advanced diplomatic techniques of the purest, most distilled teenage angst. But with some luck, and your help, we might be able to downgrade this from a "war" to a "little squirmish."
I assume Zuko has already briefed you on the delightful situation here on Kyoshi Island, involving one of my students, a missing artifact, and my apparent failure to prevent either. I was fully prepared to accept the blame, the punishment, and the inevitable, soul-crushing boredom of a life in exile, perhaps finally mastering the art of darning socks for a living. Surprisingly, Zuko – he of all people! - insisted I hold off on any grand, self-sacrificing gestures and actually investigate.
So, Suki and I are investigating. We re-checked the reliquary. It seems Kyoshi's fan was not the only item missing. The personal notes of Rangi Sei'naka are also gone. This makes the situation… suspicious. My student, Daeok, only confessed to taking the fan. She knows nothing of the notes. Furthermore, who would risk a diplomatic crisis for a historical artifact written in a ciphered, archaic script?
This is where I must ask for your help. The Fire Nation effectively erased Rangi from its official history, and Kyoshi's tales of her are just that - tales of heroic deeds. We have no full account of her life. I need you to contact Avatar Kyoshi's spirit. Ask her what those notes contained that would make them a target for theft now, centuries later.
Any insight you can provide would be… not appreciated, as that would imply sentiment, but it would be pragmatically useful.
Mai
Letter 45
From: Cranefish Town, the Avatar Residence
To: Kyoshi Island, Kyoshi Warriors Compound
Mai,
It was so good to hear from you! And I thought Zuko was the one prone to dramatic declarations, but now I see who the real biggest drama lover in the Fire Nation is! Don't worry, restarting a war with a stolen fan is a new record, but I'm sure we can fix it. Honestly, as the Avatar overseeing the colonies' rebuilding, I deal with conflicts like this one every other afternoon. Just last week, an Earth Kingdom village and a Fire Nation settlement nearly came to blows over the proper way to arrange roof tiles. It turns out, when you put people together, they'll find anything to squabble about. It's kind of natural, in a messy, human way.
Your letter was a welcome challenge, I have to admit. Asking me to talk to Avatar Kyoshi's spirit is like asking me to sort through and peel a whole basket of overripe apricot-mangoes - I know it's important, but it's going to be a difficult, sticky process. She's... the Avatar I have the hardest time finding common ground with. But what kind of Avatar would I be if I didn't try to overcome differences, right?
But Mai, you won't believe what happened. The moment I mentioned Rangi's name, it was like I was talking to a completely different person. Fierce, stoic Avatar Kyoshi just... melted. She got this faraway look, and I swear she was blushing like a love-struck teenager! She told me all about how wonderful, loyal, and hardworking Rangi was. While Kyoshi had to be away on her Avatar duties, Rangi stayed on Kyoshi Island to train the newly established Kyoshi warriors. Kyoshi thinks that after her mother, the former Fire Academy Headmistress, passed away, Rangi felt a deep obligation to fulfill that role herself. She became a teacher and a guide for a new generation. According to Kyoshi, Rangi struggled with navigating the harsh Fire Nation discipline she was raised with and her genuine care for the girls' well-being. Her life's work was about enhancing their sense of pride without letting it turn into arrogance.
So, thank you, Mai. Because of your problem, I got to see a side of Avatar Kyoshi I never knew existed, and I'm a little less afraid of her now.
I have a suggestion. When you find Rangi's notes, don't just see them as evidence. Bring them to scholars from both the Fire Nation and Kyoshi Island. Use them. A story about a Fire Nation noble who helped build Kyoshi Island will be a perfect bridge between our nations. And maybe... you can use Rangi's story to find your own foothold as a teacher and a leader. It sounds like you and she were asking a lot of the same questions.
Please give my best to Suki and Ty Lee! And tell Zuko I said hi!
Aang
Letter 46
From: Kyoshi Island, Kyoshi Warriors Compound
To: The Office of the Fire Lord
Zuko,
I am writing to you with concerning news. Kiyi and Daeok are missing. They were last seen near the eastern shore after the evening meal, and no one has been able to find them since.
Before you do what you do and start mobilizing the fleet, I need you to stay calm. My warriors have the island's perimeter secured, and the local fishermen have their eyes on every cove and shoreline. No one has entered or left this island without our knowledge. They are here, and we will find them.
The situation, strangely, is less tense than it was. After Aang’s letter arrived, Mai and I gathered all the girls - hers and mine - and we spoke to them. We asked them to share any information they might have about Rangi's notes. We explained that recovering them will be reclaiming a piece of their own legacy: of Rangi Sei’naka and how she helped build the Kyoshi Warriors from the ground up. We explained her struggle: a product of Fire Nation discipline learning to lead girls whose strength was communal resilience, not blind obedience. ("A disciplined mind forges the sharpest blade," Historian Nijo observed quietly from the corner, a remark that made our Fire Nation girls nod fiercely.) But they found a common language in their shared determination to protect their home. Her precision gave their resilience structure, and their spirit taught her that an order given with respect is followed with true loyalty.
I think they were already sick of the mess their fighting caused. Hearing this… it changed the air in the room. The hostility is gone. Now, they just look embarrassed. If they weren't all so stubborn, I think they'd be tripping over themselves to apologize. It’s infuriating. Of all the things for our nations to share, why did it have to be obstinacy and fierce pride? Why couldn't it be a shared love for steamed buns, for Unagi's sake?
We are searching. The girls are helping, now that they’re not at each other’s throats. I will send a hawk the moment we have news. Do not set the ocean on fire. Not yet.
Suki
Letter 47
From: Kyoshi Island (The Kyoshi Warriors Compound Infirmary, but it’s FINE)
To: The Office of the Fire Lord, Her Favorite (and only) Older Brother Zuko
Zuzu!
I am writing to tell you that I have been PERFECTLY OKAY this whole time. Well, besides being taken hostage by a traitor, receiving a violent blow to my head, almost being eaten by the Unagi, and getting a very nasty hangnail that I’m going to need the entire Royal Spa staff to deal with, so arrange that for me, pretty please?
But you have to hear what happened! After we learned about Rangi, I felt… weird. I realized that by trying to be a hero for my new Kyoshi friends, I’d just been pinned it all on Daeok, and over-peppered the fire flakes until nobody could eat them! I was so busy picking a side, I forgot we were all supposed to be on the same side, like Rangi was. So I decided to be the bigger person and went to find Daeok to ask her what really happened.
But she wasn’t in the barracks! She was making a bee-ant line straight for the Fire Nation cargo ship! So I tiptoed after her, because that’s what a good, cooperative person does, obviously. And I saw her confront Nijo! Daeok was so brave! She said, "I only confessed to taking the fan because I panicked when everyone started yelling at me! But I didn't! And I know it was you who took it and Rangi's notes, because the only way you could recite her exact words is if you'd read them - since talking about her is banned back home!" She threatened to reveal Nijo’s secret to everyone! But Nijo just laughed in her face! She said Daeok could claim whatever she wanted, but nobody would believe a confessed thief. My blood practically BOILED, so I jumped out and shouted that I would tell everyone, and they’d HAVE to believe the Fire Lord’s younger sister!
That scared her. You should have seen her face! She grabbed Daeok, who was petrified, and threatened me to come quietly or she’d "get burned." I had to obey! She dragged us to the upper deck and hit me really hard on the head, which made all my thoughts decide to take a little nap. Then she tried to kick me into the water, muttering something about a "younger sister’s corpse on enemy territory being the ultimate testament to the young Fire Lord’s love for peace." It was SO dramatic.
But then a stiletto flew out of the dark and pinned her sleeve to the mast! And Mai stepped onto the deck! She was like a shadow spirit, but grumpier! Nijo started yelling about how Mai instills foreign values of "mindlessly following the crowd" instead of "proudly standing your ground." She shot fire at her! But Mai just dodged it, like it was nothing, and said, "Stop draping your nonsense in flags. They’re just a bunch of confused teenagers and you’re a shameless bitch who took advantage of them." Nijo gasped so loud I thought she’d suck all the air off the ship! Mai used the moment to pin her to the rail and drag me and Daeok behind her.
But then Nijo said "My life for the principles that made our nation strong. There is no greater honor," grabbed one of Mai’s own knives, cut her hand, and spilled blood in the water! The Unagi came right away and started trashing the boat, and it threw both Mai and Nijo into the water! I got numb and frozen, but Daeok was SO CLEVER! She found a barrel of that rose-camelia oil you sent and spilled it right on the Unagi’s head! It wailed like Qing’er when she finds out her pudding has a soggy bottom and swam away! Daeok said she figured the Unagi must be like the mud eels back home, who hate smelly things. I swear, from now on I’m actually going to read the Bestiary Studies book instead of just doodling funny hats on the animals.
We made a signal fire and dragged Mai and Nijo out of the water. We explained everything to everyone, and now Daeok and I are best friends forever. So, you see? Everything is fine!
Your heroic sister,
Kiyi
P.S. I know "bitch’"s a bad word, but after what Nijo did, Mai had every right to say it. I promise I will only use it in proper emergencies, like when I’m being kidnapped, or my math homework has fractions.
Letter 48
From: Kyoshi Island, The Council of Elders
To: The Office of the Fire Lord
Fire Lord Zuko,
The truth of the theft has been revealed. The crime was carried out not by a child, but by your citizen, Nijo, acting under the influence of Inspector Mita. This was a planned attack on our heritage and the peace between our people.
While we recognize the courage of your sister and the students, and the actions of Lady Mai in stopping the traitor, the fact remains that agents of the Fire Nation violated our most sacred trust.
Our people’s anger is now rightly directed at this betrayal. Until you punish Inspector Mita for his plot and promise this will not happen again, all formal relations between Kyoshi Island and the Fire Nation remain suspended. This is no longer a matter of child’s mistake, but of grown-up treachery.
Also, Lady Mai has developed a fever from her immersion in the cold waters. Our healers say it is not deadly, but our harsh climate does her no favors. They fear a lung infection may take root if she stays. For her own well-being, we prepared a ship to transfer her and the prisoner Nijo back to the caldera. Have your doctors ready for her.
We wait for your answer and your actions.
Ayai
Head of the Council
Letter 49
From: Caldera, The Royal Palace Infirmary
To: Kyoshi Warriors Compound
Ty Lee,
Before you ask, yes, I am doing better. I can’t give you a 100% guarantee, as none of the royal physicians are trained in aura-reading, but the fact I can breathe without sounding like a suffocating manatee-whale seems a reliable sign of progress.
It’s strange. For the first time in my life, I feel… homesick. Don’t misunderstand me - there’s nothing wrong with Kyoshi Island. It’s more than fine. Their flour makes the flakiest fruit tart base I’ve ever had. But inhaling this thick, humid air, heavy with salt and sulfur, and seeing the mountain peaks covered in flaming phoenix trees… I realized I’d missed this. I’d missed home.
And the strangest part is that people here aren't trying to smother me with a pillow for my political failures. They’re being… considerate. The infirmary staff was remarkably polite even when I had some very specific critiques about the hideous ointment they applied to the inside of my throat. Headmistress Shihan arrived with a portraitist in tow, insisting my "contribution to student integrity" must be commemorated with a wall portrait. I had to convince her that my current state, which would scare small children into wetting themselves, is not the look for a legacy. I would have thought my mother’s only reason for visiting was to lecture me on how a proper lady never gets almost-eaten by a foreign beast, if she hadn’t finished with an awkward pat on my head and left a generous pile of mint lozenges on my bedside table.
And finally, well… there is Zuko. He insisted I be moved here, and he’s been keeping a… close watch. By ‘close,’ I mean he’s had a small desk for his paperwork placed by my bed. It’s been oddly amusing. I enjoy looking over his shoulder to comment on the stupidity of his ministers’ proposed laws, or, occasionally, on his own handwriting. (The first time I leaned over and pointed out his ‘tax’ character was missing two strokes, he yelped, jumped, and managed to cover us both in ink.) He seems to share the amusement, ink stains and all.
So, you really don’t need to worry. I am home, and I am cared for. Thank you, and please thank Suki, for looking after the girls in my absence. Tell them their Sifu is on the mend and will see them back in Caldera soon.
I should finish this now. Zuko is coming with a bowl of plain jook, and he just vowed to smuggle in a tiny bit of spice in his sleeve to make it bearable.
Yours,
Mai
P.S. A strange thing happened last night. A maid I’d never seen before brought me a box of sugared fire lotus seeds. She was tall, with her hair in those outdated circle buns, and had an odd accent. The way she addressed me sounded more like 'Xifu Mai' than 'Sifu Mai.' Then she was simply... gone. I asked the infirmary staff next morning, but no one matching that description was on duty that day. You’ve spent more time in the palace than I have in recent years. Do you remember ever seeing a woman like that? I can’t quite place it, and it’s… nagging at me.