Zuko

Prologue: In Sickness and in Health

I was already seven years old the first time she got sick, so of course I remember. She had just turned six, so she probably remembers, too.

She was at the palace that day—she was always at the palace. Actually, if you didn't know any better, you might have thought she was the princess or something. She wasn't, of course, but she might as well have been. Mother spoiled her, too. Sometimes, when I was mad at one of them, I would think that everyone loved her more than me. I know now that that wasn't it at all. It wasn't out of love but out of pity that they gave her so much attention. I guess I was the same. At first, anyway. We all only wanted the same thing for her. We wanted nothing bad to happen to her, not when she was with us; which is why everyone was so panicked when she got sick for the first time in the corner of my room.

She was at the palace that day as usual. Her visits had become a daily routine for me, and this day was no different. I waited patiently for her to arrive at the front gate, eager to begin an adventure in the garden again like we had done the day before. The only problem was she was late, and I was getting antsy. I waited at the front gate all morning, until even my mother came out with lunch. I could tell she was just as anxious to see her as I was.

Together, we sat behind the front gate of the palace eating the sandwiches our chef had prepared and waiting. Once Mother was done with her lunch and I was still eating, she spoke. "Did she say she'd be here?" My mother asked. "Maybe she couldn't come today."

I shook my head and swallowed my last bite. "No, she'll come. She always comes," I argued.

Almost as if it were on cue, one of the guards turned his head to us as he pointed to a small figure walking along the road to the front gate. Unable to hide my excitement, I handed my empty plate to the guard as I ran past him to greet her half way. I remember she wasn't as enthusiastic as I thought she would be, never quickening her pace to anything faster than a brisk walk toward me, so I slowed down too. Her hair hung lazily and was held back behind a black hair band while her brown jacket was wrapped around her waist, covering up the bottom of her simple, pale red dress. I was relieved to see she had sandals today and wasn't attempting to make the trip to the palace in bare feet again. When I was close enough to her to see the green color in her eyes, I stopped and waited for her to reach me. Finally, she was close enough to grab my hand and press it to her forehead, a strange ritual she had begun after learning I was a part of the royal family. I smiled and looped her fingers through mine, calling her name happily.

"Yanmei…"

Yani looked up and giggled, her goofy smile showing off a missing tooth. I began leading her back to the gate where Mother waited, but when I began to run Yani pulled back. I asked her what was wrong, but she only shook her head. I shrugged and walked at her pace toward my mother and my home.

Once at the gate again, my mother greeted us cheerfully while the guards tensed up when I brought my friend through the threshold, still not used to the unusual guest. Like she did before, Yani took my mother's hand and touched it to her forehead before dropping it and smiling at my mother.

"Yanmei, it's nice to see you again," my mother said in a smooth voice as she walked us back through the garden to the mansion my family lived in behind the palace walls.

"Yes, nice…" Yani replied in her high-pitched, clear voice, although I could tell she was distracted; her eyes were looking somewhere else.

Before we made it to the front door of our manor, my mother turned around and placed her hand on Yani's shoulder softly. "Are you alright, Yanmei? You look so tired…" she pointed out and Yani let go of my hand to twist her hair around her finger.

"Yes ma'am," Yani answered immediately.

I decided to speak up, too. "Are you sure? You didn't even want to race to the gate today…"

Yani continued to smile. "Yes, yes!" she nodded enthusiastically. Mother and I watched her skeptically and she began to squirm under our gazes, twisting her hair more fervently than before. "Actually, um…" she began in a quiet voice. "I didn't want to say earlier because I thought you'd make me go home…"

"What?" I laughed and put my hands on my hips proudly. "I won't let anyone send you home, though."

Yani looked a little easier upon hearing this and sighed. "I don't feel very good today again… It hurts, I mean…" She held her stomach and Mother scooped Yani up in her arms.

"You poor thing," Mother cooed, opening the front door and walking into the dark interior of the manor with me following closely behind, suddenly worried about my Yani. My mother took us down the main hall, all the while muttering quietly. "Poor little Yanmei, always so sick…It must be all of that filth… No one is ever there to clean you off… It's deplorable, absolutely deplorable…" Finally, my mother stopped in front of a big, white door, placed Yani gently on the floor and smiled at both of us. "We can fix you up, Yanmei, don't worry." She turned around and opened the door, walking a little into the large closet and picking up a box from the floor. "All you need is some cleaner clothes and you'll be good as new."

Yani looked a bit intimidated, so I was the one to first follow my mother into the closet. Yani hung back for a few seconds before trotting behind me and kneeling on the ground next to my mother as she opened the box and dug through the fabrics inside.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing to the dark red dress my mother was holding up. Although it wasn't patterned, it looked elegant and soft, as if it were made of silk. I felt like I had seen it before.

"It's one of Azula's old nightgowns," my mother explained, handing the garment to Yani and helping her stand up. "Take Yanmei to your room so she can change and I can wash her dress for her," Mother commanded me and I took Yani's hand again, leading her out of the closet and down the hall to my bedroom.

"It's pretty," Yani said quietly, smiling as she rubbed the nightgown against her cheek. I opened the bedroom door to the dark room and walked her to my bed, where she sat down on the edge with the dress in her lap and swung her legs freely. "Will you light the candles?" she asked, twisting her hair around her finger again.

I nodded and focused on the candle by my bedside, feeling the warmth begin in my core and slowly make its way to the tips of my fingers, where it materialized into a small, unsteady flame. I concentrated even harder as I moved the energy to the candle without leaving my position in front of Yani. She remained absolutely quiet, and I glanced at her from the corner of my eye. She was absolutely mesmerized, her emerald eyes wide with wonder and awe. Her admiration gave me a boost of confidence and my bending became stronger and steadier. Once the little flame finally attached itself to the candle wick, Yani began clapping enthusiastically.

"Yes, yes!" she squealed. "I'm so jealous!" Her smile was one of pure joy and I blushed from the praise. Other than my mother, Yani was the only person who found my firebending to be anything special.

"If you think that's good, I can show you more in the garden," I declared arrogantly and Yani's eyes sparkled.

"Let's go!" she said energetically, hopping to her feet and accidentally allowing the red nightgown to slip from her lap and onto the floor.

I laughed at her eagerness as she picked up the garment. "You get dressed first," I suggested. "I'll wait outside the door for you, and then we'll go."

Although she looked disappointed, Yani obediently did as I said and began taking off her dirty clothes as I exited the room.

Outside of my room, the hallway was empty. I wasn't sure where my mother was, but I assumed she was out in the garden as usual, waiting for us. I smiled to myself as I began to picture all of the things Yani and I were going to do. Of course, I would show her more firebending, always looking forward to any chance of showing off my amateur skills to anyone who would watch. After the firbending, though, there were infinite possibilities for the fun Yani and I could have. She would want to feed the turtleducks in the pond; they were her favorite animal. Then, maybe, she could go on an adventure with me in the east garden, where we would travel across the land to defeat any armies that stood in the Great Fire Nation's way. I would be the Fire Lord, and Yani would be my Fire Lady, just like always, and together we would travel to Ba Sing Se, finally overtaking the city and bringing down the Earth Kingdom. After that and with Yani's help, the Water Tribes would fall easily and the Fire Nation would finally be established as the greatest nation in the world. And after that…

My daydreaming was cut short when I heard a strange noise come from my room and then silence. I leaned my ear against the door and knocked softly. "Yani?" I called through the wood but she didn't say anything. Concerned, I slowly opened the door and walked into the room again. "Yani?" I said, louder this time. I stood in the doorway and waited. Yani was nowhere to be seen, as if she had disappeared into thin air. I walked toward my bed and as I got closer I heard hushed whimpering coming from the other side of it.

"Zuko…" Yani cried and I ran to the far side of my bed, where Yani was half-dressed and crumpled in the corner pathetically. She clasped one hand to her mouth and the other one was wrapped around her stomach. Yani silently let her tears fall as she bowed her head in shame.

"What's wrong?" I asked, kneeling down and placing a hand on the top of her head. Yani took her hand she had been holding in front of her face and reached out to me, grabbing my wrist with a quivering, weak grasp. I was surprised when I realized her hand was wet, but it was too dark in the corner to see why, so I sent another flame to the candle behind Yani as quickly as I could, all the while with Yani whimpering and calling my name.

When the candle illuminated the corner a bit more, I pulled Yani's hand from mine to examine it, but when I saw the red that stained her palm I dropped her hand and stood up, shocked. "What's that?" I asked hoarsely, taking a step back in trepidation.

"Zuko," Yani hiccoughed again. She slowly lifted her head and looked up at me, her eyes puffy and red as she cried more openly now. "Zuko, I feel sick…" She reached for me and a red droplet fell from her fingers to the puddle in front of her. When I saw her face, my knees went weak and I fell to the floor again.

I had moved my energy neatly to the candles, but Yani… Yani had spilled her energy all over the floor.

"Y-Yani," I panted, leaning toward her, careful to avoid the pool between us as I wiped the blood from her chin with my sleeve.