Work Text:
the royal records of
royal princess izumi
KEEP OUT!!
(that means you, lin & suyin)
dear diary,
i get it. being fire lord is hard, and being the greatest earthbender (and metalbender!!) in the world is probably hard too. bless my parents, honestly. but you know what's harder? being their oldest daughter.
i'm fourteen. i'm supposed to be learning fire nation history and politics so i can take over someday, and some of it is really dark and there is SO much of it. i'd rather hang out with my sisters, but lin and suyin won't stop fighting.
maybe i should write to grandpops. and gong-gong. they have to know what to do, right?
iroh
jasmine dragon
ba sing se, earth kingdom
dear grandpops,
it's me, izumi! i need your help, and i'm serious this time. can you come to the palace? like, really soon?
lin and suyin are fighting. they won't even sit at the same table anymore, and dinner has been SO awkward. mom and dad are stuck in council meetings all day, so somehow i'm the one who has to fix it. i'm the oldest, so everyone expects me to keep the peace. but honestly, i don't even know where to start.
please come soon. i'll make you tea. it won't be as good as yours, but i've been practicing.
love,
izumi
lao beifong
beifong estate
gaoling, earth kingdom
dear gong-gong,
i hope this letter finds you well, and that the weather in gaoling has been kind to you.
i am writing to ask for a favor. would it be possible for you to send me some more books? any books on history, politics, or leadership would be very helpful. earth kingdom history too, if you have them. my tutors say i should understand other nations as well as my own.
there is a great deal for me to learn before i am ready to become fire lord, and i want to do it properly. i would be very grateful for anything you can spare.
love,
izumi
Izumi
Fire Nation Royal Palace
Fire Nation
My little Jasmine,
What a lovely surprise to find your letter waiting for me this morning! I read it twice over my first cup of tea, and then once more over my second.
I'm sorry to hear that Lin and Suyin are fighting. Dinner without laughter is a sad thing, I know. But before I can help, I need to understand what happened. What started all this? Tell me everything, even the parts that seem small. In my experience, the biggest quarrels often begin with the smallest things.
I do want you to know something, though. Not every older sister would care this much. You could have simply let them sort it out themselves, or left it for your parents to handle. Instead, you're trying to bring them back together. That takes a big heart, and a great deal of responsibility for someone your age.
Between you and me, I think the Fire Nation is very lucky. A ruler who worries this much about keeping the peace at her own dinner table will make a wonderful Fire Lord one day.
Write back soon, and tell me everything.
With love,
Grandpops Iroh
P.S. Keep practicing that tea. I expect a full cup when I visit.
Izumi
Fire Nation Royal Palace
Fire Nation
My beloved Izumi,
I was very pleased to receive your letter. It is not often that a young lady writes to her grandfather asking for more books instead of more sweets.
I must admit your request surprised me. History, politics, leadership, and even Earth Kingdom history on top of all that. Your dedication speaks well of you, and I have already instructed my staff to gather what they can. You should expect a rather heavy parcel within the month.
However, I would like to offer you a word of advice, if you will allow it. A future Fire Lord must study, certainly. But you are also fourteen, and that is an age that does not come twice. Do not let your books keep you from the things that matter just as much. Take walks in the garden. Spend time with your sisters. Play, laugh, and make a fool of yourself now and then. Your mother did plenty of that at your age, and she turned out quite well.
The throne will wait for you. Your childhood will not.
With love,
Gong-Gong Lao
iroh
jasmine dragon
ba sing se, earth kingdom
dear grandpops,
okay, i'll explain the fight, but i have to tell you something first. why did you have to bring up the fire lord thing?? i was trying SO hard not to think about it.
because honestly, grandpops, it's a lot. my tutors give me a new stack of scrolls every week. first it's fire nation history, then politics, then more history. and some of it is really dark. i read about the things our family did, and i don't know how to feel about it. how am i supposed to make up for all of that someday? sometimes i close the scroll and just stare at the wall for a while.
everyone keeps saying i'll make a great fire lord. you said it too. i know you all mean well. but every time someone says it, it feels like one more thing i have to live up to. and i haven't told mom or dad, because they already have enough to deal with.
oh, and the fight. suyin skipped her lessons, lin punished her for it, and now they won't talk to each other. that's basically it.
love,
izumi
lao beifong
beifong estate
gaoling, earth kingdom
dear gong-gong,
thank you for agreeing to send the books. i will keep an eye out for the parcel, and please thank your staff for me as well.
i read your advice about spending time with my sisters, and i want you to know i would really like to. but i can't right now, because lin and suyin are fighting, and it has been going on for over a week.
it started when suyin skipped her lessons and went to play in the gardens. mom and dad have a rule that we must finish our studies first, so suyin was wrong to do that. but before anyone else could say anything, lin decided to punish her. she told suyin she isn't allowed to play for a whole month. i think that is much too harsh, and i don't think it was lin's place to decide.
now suyin comes to my room every night upset, saying lin is mean and bossy. then lin comes to me the next morning saying nobody appreciates that she was only trying to help. i think she wants to be taken seriously, the way people take me seriously. and i understand both of them, which makes it worse. whenever i try to talk to one, the other thinks i've picked a side.
i miss how it used to be. we used to play together in the evenings, all three of us. now the house is so quiet.
i'm sorry to burden you with this. i didn't know who else to ask.
love,
izumi
Izumi
Fire Nation Royal Palace
Fire Nation
My little Jasmine,
First of all, I'm sorry. An old man got carried away with his compliments and forgot that compliments can feel heavy too. Please forgive me.
You're right that becoming Fire Lord is a frightening thing. But let me tell you about someone I know. She wasn't born in the Fire Nation. She grew up in a big house in Gaoling with parents who thought she was too fragile to do anything at all. She couldn't see, she didn't know our customs, and when she first arrived at the palace, half the nation doubted her. Today, she is one of the finest Fire Ladies this nation has ever had.
As for the history you've been reading, yes, much of it is dark. Our family made terrible choices, and I was part of some of them. That history isn't meant to be forgotten, but it isn't meant to crush you either. It's there so you can look back on it and learn. The more you understand where we went wrong, the wiser your choices will be when your time comes.
But none of that has to happen today. It's alright to feel overwhelmed, Izumi. You're fourteen. Close the books for an evening, and let your mind rest.
And if you ever need someone to show you how to grow into a great leader, you don't need to look very far. Go and talk to your mother. She knows more about learning to belong in a place that seemed too big for her than anyone I've ever met.
With love,
Grandpops Iroh
P.S. Make your mother some tea while you talk. She'll pretend not to like it, but she will.
Izumi
Fire Nation Royal Palace
Fire Nation
My beloved Izumi,
Thank you for telling me the truth. You need never apologize for asking your grandfather for help. That is what I am here for.
Being fair to one's siblings is no easy task. It is harder still when you love them both and understand both of their reasons. That you can see each of their sides already tells me you are approaching this wisely.
If I may offer a suggestion, bring them together and speak to them at the same time. As long as you speak to them separately, each will believe you are favoring the other. Sit them down and be honest with both. Tell Suyin that what she did was wrong, and that rules exist for a reason. Then remind Lin that a punishment should fit the mistake. It is not cruelty to correct someone, but it becomes unfair when the correction is greater than the fault. And it is your parents' place to decide such things, not hers.
Once this quarrel is behind you, I hope the three of you will make time for one another again. You must stay close to your sisters, Izumi. Titles and duties will come to all of you in time, and they have a way of pulling people apart. The bond you build now, playing together in the evenings, is what will hold you together later.
If you want to hear that from someone who truly understands it, I believe you should speak to your father.
Your father grew up with a sister as well, and their relationship was a difficult one. He said that for much of his childhood, he wished someone had stepped between them before things went too far, and that no one ever did. So go to him. He knows better than anyone what is lost when siblings drift apart, and I suspect he would be glad that you asked.
I am proud of you, Izumi. You’re a good sister.
With love,
Gong-Gong Lao
lao beifong
beifong estate
gaoling, earth kingdom
dear grandpops,
i did what you said. i closed all my scrolls for a whole evening and went to find mom. i made her tea too, like you told me. she said it was too bitter, but she finished the whole cup, so i think that means she liked it.
i told her everything. about the history and how heavy it feels, and how scared i am that i won't be good enough. and grandpops, guess what? mom went through the same thing! actually, hers was even worse. she had to learn all of it without being able to read the books, so someone had to read every single scroll out loud to her. and she wasn't just reading about the war, she was actually THERE for it. i can't even imagine.
she said she was scared too, when she first came to the palace. she didn't know anyone, and she wanted to go home to gaoling every single day. she also told me gong-gong lao used to worry about her a lot back then. he wasn't sure she could handle living so far away, or being fire lady at all.
but i think gong-gong doesn't need to worry anymore, right grandpops? because mom turned out to be a really great fire lady. so maybe i'll be okay too.
thank you for reminding me to rest. and for reminding me about mom. i think i forgot how amazing she is.
love,
izumi
p.s. mom said my tea is getting better!
iroh
jasmine dragon
ba sing se, earth kingdom
dear gong-gong,
thank you for your advice. i did exactly what you said.
i sat lin and suyin down together, so neither of them could say i was taking sides. i told suyin that skipping her lessons was wrong, and that she has to make up the work. then i told lin that a whole month was too much, and that punishments are for mom and dad to decide. they both sulked for a while. but then suyin said sorry first, and lin said sorry back, and now they're fine. last night all three of us stayed up late playing pai sho, and suyin cheated the whole time.
afterwards, i went to dad and told him everything. about the fight, and how i got them to make up. when i finished, he hugged me for a really, really long time. it was nice. and a little embarrassing.
then he told me a lot about how important it is for siblings to stay close. he said that when he was younger and fighting with his sister, the person who helped him the most was grandpops iroh. he said grandpops was always there to talk to, even when dad didn't want to listen. he said he doesn't know who he would have become without him.
the house isn't quiet anymore. thank you, gong-gong.
love,
izumi
the royal records of
royal princess izumi
KEEP OUT!!
(that means you, lin & suyin)
dear diary,
okay. i think i messed up.
i just realized i put the letters in the wrong envelopes. the one i wrote for grandpops went to gong-gong, and the one for gong-gong went to grandpops. and i only noticed AFTER the messenger hawk already left. great job, izumi. future fire lord, everyone.
which means gong-gong is going to read the part where i said he used to worry about mom. and the part where i told grandpops he doesn't need to worry anymore because mom turned out to be amazing. i didn't even mean for him to see that!!
and grandpops is going to read about dad. about how dad said grandpops was the one who helped him the most when he was fighting with his sister, and how he doesn't know who he would have become without him. dad never says stuff like that out loud. now grandpops is going to cry into his tea. i just know it.
honestly? maybe it's better this way. maybe they needed to hear it more than they needed my thank-yous.
oh well!!! what's done is done. the important thing is i said thank you. lin and suyin are talking again, mom finished my tea, and dad hugged me for like a whole minute.
i'm still fourteen, and everything is still kind of stressful. but i have the best family in the whole world, so maybe the wicked can rest.
or not. i have homework.