The Old General's Tale
"Our story begins a long, long time ago…
Once upon a time, before the four nations were ruled by humans, they were ruled by fair and just spirits. The Earth Kingdom was governed by Jinheu, the Air Temples were led by Gong-Gi and his faithful air monks, the Northern Water Tribe was ruled by Tui and the Southern was ruled La. The final spirit was called Agni, and he was king of the Fire Nation.
However, King Agni didn't think that the other nations were as prosperous and superior as the Fire Nation, and so he declared war. The Southern Water Tribe was mostly decimated, and La retreated to be with his lover in the North. Gong-Gi was the next to be attacked, and the Air Temples fell. Jinheu, Tui and La did all they could to fight off Agni, but he was persistant.
One day, something happened that Agni did not anticipate. His only son, the spirit of thieves, ran off. As the young spirit, simply called the Blue Spirit by the villagers of the towns he passed, traveled the islands of the Fire Nation, he met a beautiful river spirit who was known as the Painted Lady. He snuck down to the river bank every night and waited for her to come, wary off the soldiers of Agni. After they spent much time together, both spirits fell deeply in love.
Sadly, some love stories don't have happily ever afters.
One day, the Blue Spirit did not come to the river bank, and the Painted Lady grew anxious. She soon discovered with horror that Agni had found his son and killed him for his treason, scorching half of his face off in the process.
The Painted Lady wept for her lost lover, and vowed that she would never let such a love end in tragedy again. With the last of her spirit magic, she transferred their souls into two newborn children.
Legend has it that the two lovers are still alive today, reborn as mortals, destined for a great love story like their ancestors."
As General Iroh finished his tale, Lieutenant Jee and the other men clapped politely, having enjoyed the story.
"Sir," one of the men said, sipping his tea. "Do you truly think that the Blue Spirit and the Painted Lady were reborn?"
The old general closed his eyes and sighed, stroking his beard.
"It's hard to say," Iroh absently pushed his lotus tile around the empty Pai Sho board. "There are many people who have potential to be the reincarnations of the two lovers, but even so, it could just be a coincidence."
Lieutenant Jee frowned, leaning back against the metal wall of the ship's galley. He was a practical man, not usually one to believe in such stories as the old general often told, but something about this particular story seemed familiar. He glanced over at General Iroh and caught his gaze. They seemed to both be thinking the same thing.
"Do I believe in the story?" Iroh repeated, nursing his cup of warm ginseng tea. "Well, yes, I do. I have been watching a certain someone" here he caught Jee's eye again, "and I believe he might be the Blue Spirit's soul reborn."
"The legend does seem to fit his predicament," Jee conceded, his grey brows furrowing in thought. "If so, who is the Painted Lady?"
"I'm sure you remember that pirate incident a few weeks ago, no?" Iroh sent a sly smile to the lieutenant.
Jee's eyebrows rose halfway up his forehead.
"Her?" he spluttered, nearly choking on his tea. "The water tribe girl!?"
"What are you talking about, Lieutenant? I didn't say anything about a water tribe girl!"
From outside, on the second deck, Prince Zuko listened to his uncle talk to the soldiers.
"Was he talking about me?" Zuko wondered, reaching up to softly brush his fingers over the scar on the left side of his face. "I suppose that's one thing the Blue Spirit and I have in common; terrible fathers."
As he looked up at the moon, Prince Zuko was reminded of the waterbending girl that travelled with the Avatar.
"Is she the Painted Lady?" he wondered vaguely, feeling warm(even for a firebender) as he thought of her. "It seems…right. It feels like I'm missing part of me, but when I think of her, it's almost as if the missing piece has fit itself back in. The Painted Lady…
My Painted Lady…"
(A/N) I'm not entirely sure when this takes place, but sometime after The Waterbending Scroll. Thanks for reading! :3