Title: A Forgotten Adventure
Rating: K
Genre: General, Angst
Pairings: None
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar, and I'm not making any profit from this. Duh.

Summary: An untold adventure on the way to Ba Sing Se.

And now on to our feature presentation:

Prince Zuko, son of Ursa and Ozai, hates tea. This has to do, perhaps, with the fact that every single one of his Uncle's attempts to cheer him up since his banishment has included tea in some form or another. His Uncle, however, loves tea, almost more than life itself, and Zuko loves his Uncle, certainly more than life itself.

His Uncle, who has so often tried to cheer him will soon be in need of cheering-up himself, and this is what has brought the banished prince to the simple tea shop, hidden in the corner of the bustling Earth Kingdom market. The market is one of the biggest ones outside of Omashu and Ba Sing Se, although, the prince who has never much liked shopping has no way of knowing this. It makes sense then that this stand offers a great selection of teas. Zuko has never heard of most of the teas for sale, or even some of the places that they are from, but suddenly his eyes fall on a name that is all too familiar and he knows exactly what he wants.

Reaching into his pockets he pulls out a couple of copper pieces and realizes that the simplest domestic tea will have to do. Still, he stands there a while looking at the tea feeling the unpleasant lightness of the coins in his hand.

The sales girl, apprentice shopkeeper really, cannot see what the peasant is hiding in his hands. She has heard of princes that travel as peasants however, and wonders if he might not be hiding a gold coin. At any rate, it's a slow day, and if she can make a sale, it will mean an extra slice of cheese at dinner. The girl of course has no way of knowing that he is a prince, albeit a poor one in exile; she also has no way of knowing that he has a scar on his face.

"Can I help you sir?" she asks him, advancing from his right, and she can barely contain a gasp when he turns to face her.

He simply grunts, then points at the tea in question and asks how much it costs. She smiles, because the peasant has excellent taste, and she thinks there may be more than an extra slice of cheese at dinner.

"That, sir, is our very finest tea: Madame's favorite. It comes from the Fire Lord's own private gardens, obtained at great personal peril by some very skilled high-risk traders," she explains.

Zuko doesn't care how they got it and he knows where it came from; what he cares to know is how much it costs, and he asks again.

"A silver piece for the vial, gold for a small jar. Three gold pieces for a large jar," she says, signaling each size. Of course the money in Zuko's hand couldn't buy enough of the dried leaves to make a single cup of tea. He frowns, and thinks about stealing the tea, or
alternately, the gold with which to buy it, but he realizes that his Uncle won't appreciate stolen tea, just as he did not appreciate a stolen teapot. He swallows his pride with difficulty and shows the girl the coins in his hand.

"And this?" he asks, "what can I get with this?"

The girl's spirits fall; this is no prince in disguise. No longer thinking of cheese she takes him to the cheapest tea. Zuko knows it will have to do, and that really, his Uncle will appreciate the gesture more so than the actual tea. But still, the smell of his father's tea lingers in his memory as he reluctantly hands over the coins in exchange for a small jar. He could fight. A part of him tells him that that tea belongs to his Uncle by right, that the tea was planted by Azulon for Iroh, and that as a Prince he should not have to insult his uncle in this way. But, he is tired and with his shoulders slumped down in exhaustion and defeat he begins to walk away from the store.

A moment later, a voice like the soft dawn that reminds Zuko of an angel (though he does not remember why) stops him. "Wait good sir," comes the voice and Zuko turns around to face a beautiful woman whose beautiful black hair is streaked with silver strands. Her skin is tanned, and her robes are made of simple green material, but Zuko can tell that the robes are of the best craftsmanship. Something about the woman seems out of place, as if though she had escaped from a long forgotten dream. The woman smiles at Zuko, then frowns at the girl, pulling from her hands the copper pieces that Zuko had offered as payment.

"My assistant, in her zeal to make a sell forgot not to charge you." She offers the coins back to the prince who simply looks at her in confusion.

"Sorry," he begins against his better instincts, "but, I can't accept your charity."

"Not charity. Company policy, all victims of the Fire Nation shop here for free."

Zuko turns away from her, hiding his scar. "It's, it's not what it looks like."

"Oh?" she prods.

"It's my own fault... I disobeyed my Uncle, years ago, and paid the consequences."

The woman's eyes widened in horror. "Your Uncle didn't—

"No! Of course not, my Uncle would never hurt me, he--" Zuko is going to say that his uncle loves him, but stops himself. "He wouldn't hurt me," he finishes quietly.

Bringing her hand to her chin she stops a second to study his features. "Well, you're honest. I admire that in a man, and I see you're one of great honor. Take a vial of any tea you like."

"But ma'am!" begins the girl, "the peasant has a king's tastes."

Peasant, the word leaves a sour taste in Zuko's mouth and he feels fire rising in his fists, but he quells the fire because for some reason he doesn't wasn't to tarnish his image in the kind woman's eyes. He shakes his head, "Thank you, but this will do."

"I understand," she says, and Zuko turns to leave. "Although," she starts, "would you happen to know anyone looking for employment?" Zuko stops dead in his tracks.

"A new shipment just came in and the boy who normally tends to those things has broken his arm; my assistant isn't strong enough, and I don't have the time."

The unlucky prince is clever enough to realize that this is charity too, but it's the kind of charity he can accept. "Actually, my uncle and I are running low on funds."

"Great then," she says. "You can get started immediately; my assistant will show you what to do."

The work is not difficult, but by midday the young boy is covered in sweat and grime and he cannot ignore the girl's stare lingering on his exposed chest. Suddenly he hears the lady's voice calling the girl to lunch and Zuko finds himself relieved when the girl leaves him alone with the crates. He bends over and readies himself to lift another crate, but he's stopped by the appearance of the lovely lady in green who beckons him to lunch as well. He replaces his refugee rags and joins the lady and the brat.

Lunch is incredible, and Zuko finds himself wondering if he has ever eaten so fine a meal, but he knows that he was a Prince of the Fire Nation once and that this must still be a pauper's meal compared to those he enjoyed in earlier days. When the meal is done Zuko heads back to the crates, but the lady in green stops him and thanks him. She tells him that he has done enough and hands him a vial with the tea. It's not enough for more than a pot, but still Zuko knows that the labor he's done is no recompense for the tea. He tells her this and she smiles.

"As I said, I can see you're an honest man of great honor, and those are traits which I appreciate greatly." She places the vial in his hands again. "Besides, you remind me of my son; I haven't seen him in quite some time, but he'd be about your age." Then she places her hand on his shoulder. "I can only hope he's grown up to be an honorable young man like you."

Zuko grasps the vial lightly, bows and turns to leave. He turns back for a second and asks her, "Because of the war? You haven't seen him because of the war?"

She pauses as if unsure of what to answer, then nods her head in affirmation: "Yes, because of the war."

They sigh, and he leaves.

- - -

On his way back to his Uncle Zuko trips as he crosses a stream. The water is cold, but it's the shattered vial, tea long gone which brings tears to his eyes. But as always, Iroh is waiting for him with a hot pot of tea to warm his bones. Oh, it's no great tea, but Zuko supposes that in the end, it is the thought that counts.

Author's Notes: I wrote this a while back while I was in France and deprived of both a computer and a television, and very Avatar deprived. Certainly before the group got to Ba Sing Se. Recently, I found the notebook I had written it in and decided to transcribe it and post. Hopefully you've enjoyed this and picked up on who the tea lady was. I don't know how they buy tea in the Avatar-verse, but fine tea at Galleries Lafayette is sold in little glass jars and little glass vials, so I went with that idea.

If you've read, don't forget to review!