Zuko stared, blankly, into the mirror; his reflection gazed back at him, looking like a perfect prince. That relfection wasn't him.
He pulled away from the mirror, letting his hair out of the top-knot he so frequently wore these days. What was he doing? Playing along with his father's wishes, prentending to be someone he wasn't.
'What would Uncle tell me to do?' Zuko murmured.
He pictured the old man's face... the same face he had seen in Ba Sing Se; that dissappointed face that he himself had caused.
'I'm pathetic.'
He hated himself. He was the lowest scum in the world. He was adored by his subjects, all of whom saw him as the glorious Prince Zuko who had defeated the Avatar and brought victory to the Fire Nation. Yeah, right. He'd done nothing glorious or honourable in Ba Sing Se; he had betrayed the only person who had ever really loved him like a parent since his mother had vanished all those years ago. He had betrayed his uncle, who had been more of a father to him that Ozai had ever been. He had betrayed Katara, who had just started to trust him; he had betrayed one of the only people to whom he had ever really opened up.
And what for? What had gained from hurting these two? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He hadn't regained his honour, he hadn't lost the shame from his banishment, he had gained not a single, solitary thing. All he had done was hurt two people who had, at the time, genuinely cared for him. He felt sick as he thought of the damage he had done on that day. He had helped his twisted, evil little sister wreak havok on the Earth Kingdom.
But, then again, what he gain from leaving? He doubted his uncle would ever fogrive him for what he had done; he would be leaving Mai, the one who loved him and the one he loved in return. He would be breaking her heart if he abandoned her. And then there were all his subjects in the Fire Nation who would, once again, be without their prince.
'What should I do!' Zuko screamed into the silence.
Thanks to The Goliath Beetle for pointing out a typo. I've fixed it ^_^