Zuko did not know where the hell he was. Granted, he did not know how he got there in the first place. All he remembered was feeding the turtle-ducks in the Fire Nation Palace before falling into the pond and waking up in some strange forest, next to a stone basin (make that a very, very beautiful, intricately carved stone basin), with a woman with hair the color of the Sun and eyes like sapphires. Sapphire… just like hers…
"I know who you are," the woman said smiling kindly at him, lightly touching his scar. "You carry a great burden and a great sadness as well," Having said thus, she walked towards a little waterfall, and filled the pitcher in her hand with the water within it. Slowly, she turned to him, and asked, "Will you look into the mirror?"
The Prince of the Fire Nation did not respond. He was in an unfamiliar territory, in a strange place with a woman, who did not look like any other woman he had seen before. "What makes you think that I can trust you?" he asked her in return, cautious of letting his guard down again. However, she did not balk at him, nor attack him, for that matter. She just stood there, smiling as she just did. "Who are you?"
The woman chuckled. "My name is unimportant to you, miniscule in terms of what you shall accomplish, child," she answered, eyes still fixed upon his amber orbs. "You may not be the Avatar of your world, but you will still have a great destiny about you, child. You shall restore balance and peace to your world, if only you can find peace within yourself… Anyhow, I am not able to attack you, for I am unarmed and unable to wield weapons…"
She was right, Zuko reasoned, and relaxed. He watched his own surroundings, and found that despite is strangeness and foreign threat to his soul, he found the forest beautiful, and peaceful. There were unseen voices, high above the trees, singing hymns in a language he did not even know existed. It was a harrowing experience for him, and one that seemed to be able to bring him to momentary peace. "What will I see in your mirror?" he asked her again, his voice now respect-filled and mild.
"A young troubled spirit asked me this exact question just recently, and I shall tell you what I told him: In my mirror, you will see the things that are, things that were, and things, that have not yet come to pass," the woman replied, pouring the water into the basin-mirror in graceful, fluid movements. "But, I can only tell you that what you see may not necessarily become truth, and it is up to you, to turn what you see into reality, or dispel what you feel are lies."
Bowing slightly, Zuko told her that he would look into the strange mirror, and peered inside. For moments, the water did not change. Not even a ripple, not even a single movement. The sounds that he heard, the singing voices, they seemed to stop momentarily, as if wanted to hear and watch what he would see. He was losing his patience, but persevered, like what his Uncle would have told him to, and the very moment he focused everything he had in him onto the water, he started to see it stir. In seconds, he saw himself, and Katara, in the crystal caves of Ba Sing Se… He remembered that day clearly. He had turned his back on what he had seen was the last chance of redemption in her eyes, in order to regain his honor… They had exchanged more than just mere words that day, and his sister managed to manipulate him… It was his greatest failure…
Then, the image changed. This time, he was in the palace of the Fire Nation, where he was standing next to Azula, waiting for their father. He was gladly received, for Ozai had thought that the Avatar was now dead, and restored his honor, and achieved what he had always dreamed of… But that was not the case in reality. He was even more confused now, more disgusted with himself and pained from within… What he had once seen as his ultimate goal, was nothing more than the seduction of what he had realized as the need to be loved by his own father. He remembered the pain in Katara's eyes, the shame in those of his uncle's, and hung his head… He was still feeling it now, still so deep in turmoil… What could he do to restore what he had done? What could he do to right all the wrongs that he had made?
And lastly, the mirror showed him a new image. He saw himself standing before the Fire Nation, and the soldiers of the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes. He saw the Avatar defeating his father, and he saw himself being crowned as the new Fire Lord, with his uncle looking upon him with pride. He saw himself with her, her sapphire eyes filled with tears of joy as he spoke to her, on bended knee, giving her a customary devotion gift of the Fire Nation: a pendant shaped like a burning flame, but this particular one was made out of sapphires and diamonds found only in the lands of the Water Tribes… A culmination of what made them one heart… He then saw himself and her, standing together in the robes of Fire Nation royalty, holding in their arms, a baby… The child that they would have…
"I know what it is you saw," the woman said to him, when all the water in the mirror-basin had been evaporated by either unknown means or any Fire-bending he would have done unconsciously. "For it is also in my mind…" So, whatever he had seen in the mirror, it would be shared with her. Zuko gulped silently, and waited for what she would say. "For you to accomplish all that you have seen, you must gather the courage to face yourself, young one. You must accept yourself and all your wrongdoings in order to be at peace with yourself. Only then, can you achieve your true destiny."
Zuko's heart plunged. All his life, he had been nothing, but a wandering soul, yearning for his own father's love. And now, he had betrayed the whole world, and still had not gained a single glance of appreciation and acknowledgement from his father. He knew what must be done. He knew what he had to do, and what he had seen was able to fuel him into the future he know would be his redemption and his own. "Thank you, wise one," he said, bowing low and deep this time. He still did not know who she was, but that woman had given him a great deal of courage to do what he had to do… "I will never forget you… but, how can I get back to where I came from?"
Once again, the woman smiled. "You never left your home, child. I just came to you in a manner that would not upset the balance between the worlds. You are still in the Fire Nation of your own world, while I am in mine… When you close your own eyes, and open them again, you will be right where you were before we met. We shall never seen each other again, but always remember Galadriel of the Golden Wood!"
Doing as what he had been instructed to do, Zuko closed his eyes, and opened them, finding himself to be in the turtle-duck pond in the palace. But now, he knew what had to be done, and what must be done, if he were to truly regain his own honor, and his own redemption. He would stand against his own father, and aid the Avatar, no matter what it took. He would restore balance to the world, and if it took an entire lifetime to do it, then so be it…