A/N: Written for the Probending Circuit

Prompts:

Word- Lost

Location- Si Wong Desert

Restriction- No dialogue

Word Count- 1,160


Heat. Oppressive, overbearing and all encompassing heat was the main sensation. It made sense after all, as if the Si Wong Desert was known for anything besides its expansive size, and the ease of getting lost within, it would be the heat.

Rarely did Prince Zuko, exiled royal of the Fire Nation, long for cold, but with the sweat coating his body, the dryness of his mouth and the pain of each labored breath as he traversed the dunes, this was turning out to be one of those rare times. The frigid wastelands of the south, or the towering glaciers of the north would be a welcome sight at the moment, if only for a brief respite from the oppressive rays of the sun.

How long had it been since he had last had a sip of water? He couldn't be sure. It seemed like days, though in reality it had probably been little more than a couple of hours. It couldn't be helped however, as the desert was vast, and his water supply limited, thus the firebender had to conserve every drop.

He checked the canteen on his hip, the faint sound of his dwindling water supply making a pathetic swishing sound within. He shook his head in irritation. If only he had been born a waterbender, blessed with the power to manipulate the world's most abundant element to his will. Perhaps then he wouldn't be where he was now, dying of thirst in the middle of the Earth Kingdom. Then again, if he had been born in the Water Tribes, a lot of things about his life would be different. As if in answer, or perhaps simply to mock him, his scar throbbed, pain flashing briefly across his face, added heat in this boiling inferno, that brought to mind other boiling infernos of his past.

Firebenders were blessed, the chosen of Agni, the Sun God. They were the superior race, wielders of the superior element. Or at least that's what he had been taught as a child, but then, he had come to question most of what he had been taught as a child in these last years away from home. In all of his sixteen years of life, these last two after his banishment had felt like the longest he had ever been through.

Thinking back to the circumstances of his banishment, it all could have been so easily avoided. If only he had kept silent during the war meeting. If only he hadn't stood up for all of the soldiers that were expected to die for their nation. An entire division of new recruits were to be used as live bait; nothing more than a living distraction for the Earthbenders they would be facing. Even now, hardened by several years at sea, chasing an elusive Avatar, that until now, no one believed to even be alive, he still shuddered at the thought.

He shook his head at his foolishness. If he had stayed silent, and let his father and his generals run the war, as he should have, then perhaps he wouldn't bear the scars he did. Both the obvious outward scar on his face, which had become his mark, that of the banished prince, sent to capture the Avatar, and the other less visible marks, which he had carried on his psyche ever since that fateful duel.

An Agni Kai. A Fire Duel. A duel against a master firebender, and a man he had never dreamed of facing head on in combat. How could a man who claimed to love him be so cold and uncaring? How could his father have been so ruthless? He had been so naïve, so foolish to declare that he was not afraid to face the old general, only to turn, and to find in shock, that he would be facing his own father to repent for his mistake.

The pain of that day surfaced again, the fear that coursed through him when he turned to find his father facing off with him, rather than the old general. His scar burned, and it had nothing at all to do with the heat of the sun above. Not for the first time, Zuko contemplated simply giving up, just laying down and letting the creatures of the desert, or the heat, or the lack of water end it all. Or he could find some sandbenders, or earthbenders perhaps. Either one of them would be happy to take the life of the former Fire Prince, after what his people had spent the last hundred years doing to them.

However, as always, he kept going. He kept trudging on, placing one foot in front of the other, moving forward even though he had little idea of where he was going, and where he had come from. All he knew how to do was keep moving, keep fighting, and keep struggling. For on the day he had been scared and banished, he had not only lost his country, his throne, his people's and his father's respect, but something far more precious. He had lost something intrinsic to his very being, and those of the Fire Nation. It was lost, and only the capture of the Avatar could bring it back to him.


Zuko looked out over the crowd gathered in the courtyard of the arena, feeling the weight of the crown upon his head as the Fire Sages declared him the new Fire Lord. The responsibility for rebuilding his nation and the world now rested heavily on his shoulders. However, he no longer had to bear his burdens alone. He could see them in the crowd, former enemies, who were now his closest friends. Team Avatar, as Sokka liked to refer to them as. These people, who had taken him in and given him trust despite his past indiscretions, despite his past history of violence and despite his questionable familial ties.

At his side, Aang gave him a bright smile and they faced the crowd together, as Zuko passed the attention of the crowd to the Avatar, whom he believed to be the real hero today. Though he had gained something today as well, and it was clear in the way he stood, the way he addressed his people, and it would govern his actions to come.

Which is why, when he knelt down to look his father in the eye in his lonely prison cell, there was no fear in the former banished Prince's eyes, as he demanded to know where his mother was. For today, he had regained everything, love of his friends, his people, and his throne. But most of all he had finally found that which he had been searching for, for so many years as he hunted the Avatar across the world. Azula's words at the fall of Ba Sing Se all those months ago rang truer today then they had at the time. He had, finally, restored his honor.


A/N: It boggles me how it took me this long to upload something about Zuko, since he's my favorite Avatar Character from the original series. Guess I have been pretty focused on Korrasami. Anyways, expect to see more of Zuko and the other Last Airbender characters from me in the future. As always, enjoy!