It became apparent to Zuko from a very early age that there were many things that he, prince of the Fire Nation and eldest heir to the throne, was forbidden from doing. Like wandering outside the palace, going to the library without an escort, or even eating things he wanted when he wanted.
But this was the environment in which he grew up and the only one he knew. Thus, he resigned to believe this was the way the world simply worked. And for a while, he seemed quite content with the way things were going. Walks in the park with his mother, practicing his fire-bending form, and being pampered by the maids in his free time. Under the love and care of his mother, Zuko was growing to be a fine man, despite the constant nagging of his sister.
One day, he got a visit from his Uncle and his oldest son Lu Ten.
" 'Sup, cuz?"
"Lu Ten!" Zuko wiped away the tears and ran toward his cousin to be enveloped in a deep embrace. "How was Ba Sing Se? I missed you!"
"I missed my favorite cuz – " upon seeing Azula, he hastily added "cousins, too! Oh, check this out. I got you guys some nice presents!"
Both their eyes went wide. "Aunt Ursa," he called in a sing song voice. "This includes you too!"
Gathering around the table, Lu Ten placed his heavy bag in the center. "One of the many unique facets of the Earth Kingdom, is that they recognize the strength of their women." Lu Ten began all his stories like this, with a slow introduction to set the mood and carefully drawing everyone in with his calm and melodious voice. "Unlike many cultures where we draw soldiers from a single gender, the Earth Kingdom has a wider pool and recognizes all sorts of talents. There, I stumbled across a library where I found an ancient fire bending style – suited for women. You see, back in the day, we were great allies, and so there was much trade going on. One of the practices the border countries picked up on was this idea of letting women fight." Straightening up, he pulled out a single, old scroll. "A fire-bending style crafted specifically for women. From what I've read, it was very effective. And because of its heritage and age, there are few who know how to counter it properly. May it be of use for you, little Azula." He nobly presented the scroll to her.
Azula jumped with joy and immediately began perusing the scroll.
"Just be careful," the elder cousin warned, "it's very old." He then turned to face Zuko. "Four generations before our great grandfather Sozin's time, a new movement began here in the Fire Nation. One called the pure bending movement. Weapons, it was thought, were a corruption of the art of bending. If bending was to be a test of strength, then why have anything else at all? This is the dawn of the Agni Kai, the fire duel. Duels where one on one fights took place with pure bending – the ultimate test of honor, courage, and strength. Unfortunately, not all of our sister nations had this philosophy. In fact, the air nomads specifically had styles that incorporated tools into their bending."
Then, he pulled out two large, sharp matching broadswords. "An old legend says that those who have seen the true flames of a dragon have the truest understanding of what constitutes fire-bending. The Sun Warriors believed that while fire-bending was a form of self-defense, it was also much more than that. A form of spiritual peace and sustenance. It is rumored that the last Sun Warrior Chief had these swords crafted from true dragon flames and blessed with a calming energy. For my favorite cuz, Zuko!" He finished dramatically, giving the boy a wink.
"And for my favorite Aunt," he began with a drumroll when Ursa kissed the elder boy on the cheek.
"You bring me the gift of your company," she said smiling.
"Phew! Thank Agni, because really. I didn't have a gift." He rubbed his head goofily as they all laughed.
Lu Ten was always a source of laughter and good mood.
…
"Lu, where's Uncle Iroh?"
"Oh, he's still back at the base station in Ba Sing Se. Enough about my side though. What's up with you crying little bud?" He ruffled Zuko's hair.
Zuko stopped walking and mumbled a little bit.
"What's that?"
"I can't fire-bend... No matter what I do, I can't fire-bend." Zuko expected many reactions. Laughter, pointing, shock, disbelief, or even ridicule. But Lu Ten did something entirely out of the ordinary.
"Oh, well it's about time you noticed."
Zuko stopped dead, giving his older cousin a look of genuine fear.
But Iroh's son had a twinkle in his eyes. "Let me guess, Azula can already fire-bend, right?"
Zuko mutely nodded.
Lu Ten chuckled. "Come on, cuz," he said turning around waving for Zuko to follow. "Let's go focus on important stuff, like how to help you use those swords!" He said a little loudly, and paradoxically began walking toward the library.
As social as ever, Lu Ten respectfully greeted all the elders, and flirtatiously greeted all the women. Using his ID card and privileges as the crowned prince, he led Zuko into corridors the boy didn't even know existed. Further and further back, they approached an old bookshelf that seemed to be the end of it. Then, pushing a brick back, a slight 'POP' was heard.
Three paces to the right, and Lu Ten pushed the book case back, revealing a secret door. Behind them the door closed, and Lu Ten quietly whispered to Zuko.
"I'm sure you've noticed, but as a member of the Royal Family you're always watched. You can't always trust what people say. This library contains ancient documents and stories that have been forbidden for generations. I'd advise you to start looking around. It may illuminate some aspects of your problems." He winked, and with a twirl of the bricks, was gone once more.
Zuko was left alone to his own thoughts – thoughts curiosity about this mysterious library, shame for not being able to fire-bend, and jealousy that his younger sister was already producing large blasts of fire.
…
Time flew by over the course of two weeks. Lu Ten trained Zuko in the basic forms of broadswords, and with all the comedy and action packed dinners, Zuko didn't even bother worrying about the bending (or lack thereof). That was the beauty of his elder cousin. He made you focus on the positive, even when you didn't know there were any.
The night before Lu Ten's departure to Ba Sing Se, they met in the library once more, in the dark.
"Zuko, if I don't make it," he began hurriedly and in a hushed tone, despite being alone in the most secret parts of the library, which worried Zuko.
"Don't say that! You're an amazing warrior – I've seen you fight – "
"If I don't make it, whatever you do, don't lose sight of who you are. Not what people say you are, but who you really are." And with that, he handed Zuko a very old parchment. "I saw you didn't quite make it around to this old scroll yet, so I thought I'd help you out."
"Lu Ten, why are you scared? You sound like someone's after you."
He shook his head and ruffled Zuko's hair, a smile once more returning to his face. "Just promise me that you'll work on the things I've taught you."
The younger boy nodded. "I promise."
"Good. Remember, calm and serene. Fire-bending is not just a tool of destruction. If you handle your emotions, you'll be amazed at what you can do."
"Lu Ten, what if I'm not a bender?" Zuko asked with concerned eyes. He tried to be brave, to trust that his cousin had a logical explanation, but his cousin to date had still not answered it. "I'm turning eight this year, and they say if you can't make fire by then, it's almost certain you're not a bender! And if I'm not a bender, then – "
Lu Ten calmly placed a hand on his shoulder. "So you can't bend? So what? What's the worst that'll happen? There have been princes before who couldn't bend. You're not the first, Zu."
"But... but..." He stared at the floor, not wanting to resign himself to the fate of a peasant.
Lu Ten observed the despondence that suddenly overtook his cousin and decided to change strategy slightly. "Wanna hear a little secret?"
Zuko's ears perked up.
"I didn't make my first fire until I was ten."
Zuko's eyes went wide.
The elder cousin smiled. "They were basically certain there was no shot, but, one day it just happened. And you can't control it, Zuko. And the worst thing you can do is worry about it. The purest forms of fire-bending require the calmness and peace of mind."
Zuko nodded, hope returning to his young face once more.
"Alright, I gotta get going. Catch ya later, cuz!" He finished with his old informal vigor and left for the warfront leaving behind a very puzzled and intrigued Zuko.
Under the faint lantern light, Zuko carefully read what appeared to be a detailed history of Avatar Roku's life...
…
As it turned out, the library contained many ancient secrets. Secrets about the origins of the war, about the Air Nomads. Secrets that were far more interesting than what he was learning in school. So, every night, Zuko would dress in all black, take his swords and tuck them in the back (for safety, he reasoned,) and snuck into the library. He poured himself into the legends of the past, of every culture.
Over time, he discovered a pattern to the books. The library was divided into five large sections – one for each nation. Each section then further divided into subsections of interests: styles of fighting, cuisine, culture, ancestries, music, arts, etc. Another entire section was devoted entirely to the avatar, and all the past lives dating back as far as records existed. It seemed odd, frankly, that many of these things would be hidden off in a section somewhere such that no one would see them. They weren't, well, that important. Why did it matter that the air nomads were vegetarians? Why was that in this secret library...
Zuko frowned. There had to be a reason why this library was sectioned off. It made sense why it existed – after all, knowing about one's enemy is important. But as to why it was sectioned off... He filed this information in the section of things he'd have to investigate later. In the mean time, he focused on learning as much as he could.
School rapidly became boring. Even as a young child, he could see facts weren't beginning to line up.
"And that was when the Fire Lord Sozin defeated the Air Nomads."
Zuko frowned, raising his hand. "But the Air Nomads didn't have a standing military. Fire Lord Sozin ambushed them."
The teacher, flabbergast at the boy's statement, wasn't sure of what to say. "No, no that's not true."
"Yes it is."
The class was dead quiet. If the Air Nomads didn't have an army, then Sozin's attack was... well, less than honorable. And everyone knew the Fire Lord was never anything but honorable.
"We lost hundreds of soldiers in the attack on the Eastern Air Temple. There are corpses all around. Are all of these lies?" The teacher looked smug.
Zuko had to think for a minute. That was pretty hard proof that there was a battle. Undeniable that fire nation soldiers were killed. But that wasn't enough. "Then name an Air General. We have names of the opposition for the Earth King and even the Water Nation. Who was the leader of the Air resistance?"
Now the teacher was absolutely shocked. "Ah, well..." he faltered before settling on a name. "Monk Gyatso. He was the leader."
"Which temple did he live in?"
"Ah, well... the Eastern one."
"So he died after the first attack? Then who led?"
"Well... I will not tolerate this sort of disorderly conduct. You will either sit and listen, or be punished."
And then, Zuko did something no one expected. He got up and walked out of class. The teacher wanted to lie? Fine. He'd learn on his own. At the library.
…
"Zuko, where are you running off to?" His mother calmly faced him at the door.
Zuko paled. It was late, very late. Much passed his bed time. And he was off to the library once more.
"I couldn't sleep. I... I wanted to go on a walk."
His mother smiled. "With broadswords?"
"For protection," he weakly fibbed.
"Inside the palace?"
"I... I..."
"Sensei told me about the... incident at school. I'd like to hear it from your side."
He gulped. He was in for it now. Taking a deep breath, he sat down on his mother's lap and explained everything. How he thought his sensei was lying about the Air Nomads, how he was teaching them wrong information.
His mother smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "You were always too smart for your own good, and too loud mouthed." Her voice turned more somber. "But, as a member of the Royal Family, there are somethings that are... dangerous for us to encourage. Until you are of age, please promise me you won't tell anyone about the things you read in Avatar Roku's library."
Zuko's eyes widened. This was Roku's library? It took a while for him to digest everything his mother had just said. She knew where he was going, and most importantly, she wasn't forbidding him from going. "I promise!" He smiled at her and ran off on his nightly quest for knowledge.
His mind was racing as he approached the library. This new fact gave credibility to everything he had been reading for months. It proved what he had been reading wasn't lies. And there was one particular scroll that he hadn't yet read...
Racing into the library, but carefully making sure he had closed all the doors, he went to the small desk in the corner where he had placed the scroll Lu Ten had given him.
Sozin's... diary?