A/N:This was written between Chapters 13 and 14: The Blue Spirit and The Fortuneteller, so some of the stuff is a bit off.

Prince Zuko twisted and turned in his sleep.

Please, Father! I only have the Fire Nation's best interest at heart! I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!

Zuko groaned as his head turned to the side.

You will fight for your honor.

I meant you no disrespect! I am your loyal son.

He turned onto his side again.

Rise and fight, Prince Zuko.

I won't fight you.

The prince rolled onto his back.

You will learn respect…

He threw his head to his left.

…and suffering will be your teacher.

Zuko's eyes shot open as he quickly drew in a breath and sat up. The ship creaked quietly while it slowly tilted back and forth in the cold ocean water. Zuko looked at his dark surroundings and slowed his breathing back to a normal pace. He was in his room, in his bed, it was just a nightmare. No, not a nightmare, a memory, a painful memory.

The prince touched his face with his fingers, and felt the different texture of his skin from where his own father left an ugly mark. He put his hand over his bare chest. His heart was beating rapidly, and gradually slowed back down.

Zuko flipped over his pillow, and laid his head down on the cool, soft cushion. He didn't want to go back to sleep, not now. He had to clear his mind of such thoughts. But how? His brain was stuck on thinking about his past. An idea struck his mind. He will drown his unwanted memories with ones he would rather remember.

Four Years Old

At around noontime, Ozai sat at his throne with flames surrounding him. He was in his war chamber, and had twelve generals sitting around an Earth Kingdom map on the floor directly in front of him.

A general was explaining his plan, "Then after we ambush this city, we..." One of the two doors opened, and a small boy ran into the room. Two guards were chasing after him. They stopped in their tracks and stood up straight.

"Sorry, Lord Ozai," one of them apologized, "but we couldn't stop him with out hurting him."

The boy ran passed the generals and stood before the Fire Lord. "Daddy!" he cried.

"It's rude to interrupt, Prince Zuko, especially during a meeting," Ozai told him calmly.

"But Princess Zula did something mean to me!" A girl who looked to be about nine ran in and stood beside the prince.

"Princess Zula, have you been mean to your little brother?" Ozai asked, his voice becoming a bit sterner.

She wrapped her arms around Zuko with a smile. "Of course not! Prince Zuko's just over reacting from a game we were playing."

Zuko pointed a finger toward her. "Nuh uh! She put worms in my nood-" She put her hand over his mouth, and gave a fake laugh as Ozai raised an eye brow.

"C'mon, Prince Zuko, lets go finish our game!" Zula took his wrist and pulled him across the room, to the door.

"But, Daddy, I-" The door closed before he could finish. Ozai put a hand on his forehead and sighed. He looked up to see his generals with blank faces.

"Forgive my children, generals," said the Fire Lord.

Four words echoed the room, "It is understood sir."

Zuko smirked at that day. He had to get one of his servants to get him a new bowl of noodles. Zula also got into a bit of trouble for pulling that prank on him.

The prince frowned. Something had interrupted his thoughts. It was a familiar, but annoying noise. It was his Uncle Iroh snoring loudly again. Sometimes he would wonder why he would come with him during his exile. Maybe he felt sorry for him. Or maybe he was ordered to do so. Or maybe, he came because of the relationship they had before his banishment.

Seven Years Old

Ozai exited a room and closed the door. When he turned around, he barely missed running into his son.

"Is Uncle Iroh coming to visit today?" asked the young prince.

"Yes," the Fire Lord replied, "he should be arriving at the docks soon." He began to walk down the hallway, with Zuko following at his side.

He looked up to his father and asked, "How come Uncle's coming by ship?"

"You do love asking questions don't you, Prince Zuko?" He responded with a smile and nod. "Your uncle is coming by ship because he's traveling from the Earth Kingdom and he can't ride rhinos from there." Except for their boots tapping against the tiled palace floor, the halls were silent.

Then, Zuko thought of something, "Why are rhinos called 'Komodo Rhinos'?" Ozai sighed as they turned a corner. Just be glad he didn't ask where babies come from, he thought.

Ozai stood silently at the pier, waiting for his brother to arrive. Zuko had stopped at his room to retrieve something for Iroh.

A guard walked up to him, breaking the silence. "Fire Lord Ozai, we spotted the ship; General Iroh should be here momentarily."

Ozai nodded once and said, "You may return to your post." The guard bowed before walking away.

A couple of minutes later, a large metal ship came into sight. Just then, Zuko ran to his father and stood next to him with a folded piece of paper in his hands. The war ship stopped at the docks, and steam rose from the sides of the front. The hatch door was released and it landed on the ground with a loud "boom". A man walked down the ramp.

Zuko smiled. "Uncle!" the young prince shouted with delight. He ran to where Iroh was standing.

"Hey, Prince Zuko!" Iroh greeted his nephew with a smile and his arms open. The prince jumped into his arms and hugged him. They let go of each other and Iroh put his hand on Zuko's head, "You've gotten much taller since the last time I saw you." He took his hand away as Zuko quietly laughed a bit. He looked down at the paper then up to Iroh.

"Here," he said handing it to him, "I made this for you."

"Why thank you, Prince Zuko," Iroh opened it to see a painting of two people on a grassy hill, like the ones in the Fire Nation, and an orange sun in the sky.

Zuko put his finger on the paper, "See? This one's me, and this one's you."

"Yes," he said looking over the paper to his nephew, "you are becoming quite an artist." The prince smiled a bit more, then he turned his head straight up to his father who was now standing beside him. Iroh refolded his gift and stood up. "Hello, Ozai," he said holding out his hand. "How are you doing?"

Ozai shook his hand and replied, "Fine, thank you, but brother or not you still have to call me by my title, General Iroh." The Fire Lord released his brother's hand.

"Right, forgive me, I'm always forgetting that… sir." Zuko looked at his two relatives, turning his head back and forth. Two soldiers came off the ship, both holding large bags.

"Where should we put these bags, Lord Ozai?" one of them asked.

He motioned them to follow him. "Come, I'll show you the way." Ozai walked toward the palace.

"Yes, sir." The one in front followed, but the other stopped because Iroh put his hand on his shoulder.

"Wait a second, I need to get something first," he said as he dug through his bag. Iroh pulled out two boxes wrapped in white paper. They both had some Chinese characters written on top. "Thank you, that's all I need. You may go now," he said.

The guard bowed. "Yes, General Iroh." He quickly walked to the palace to catch up. Iroh turned around to see Zuko with a confused look on his face.

He walked over to his nephew and handed him one of the boxes. "Here, Prince Zuko." The young prince looked from the box to his uncle, who was smiling.

"Uh… my father said that I can not accept gifts," he told him.

Iroh smiled a bit wider, "That's why I waited until he left," he said, moving the box a few inches closer to his nephew.

Zuko smiled and took the gift. "Thank you, Uncle!" He sat on the ground and tore off the wrapper. Iroh quietly chuckled. Zuko removed the lid and saw two toys from the Earth Kingdom sitting next to a small bag. He opened it to find nine Pai Sho tiles. "Wow, thanks, Uncle!" he said while he put everything, including wrappers, back into the box and closed the lid. The prince stood up and gave Iroh another hug. His uncle patted his back a few times.

"You're certainly welcome, Prince Zuko," he said as Zuko let go of him. Iroh kept his hand on his back and led him toward the palace. "Where's Princess Zula at?" he asked.

"She's at sort of a military camp –thankfully - and I'm not old enough to go there yet. She'll be back tomorrow," Zuko replied as they walked up the front steps. They went through the doors, which were opened by two guards.

Iroh put his hand to his side and said, "Remember, don't show your gift to your father, alright?"

"Alright, I'll go put it in my quarters. Would you like to come with me?"

"Why sure, but could you also show me where Princess Zula's room is as well? It's been a while since I've visited the palace."

"Sure, her quarters is to the right of mine." They walked through a few hallways to a large room that had a ceiling two stories up. Then they went up a staircase to a floor a third the size of the one below it.

To the right of the end of the stairs was a large set of doors, most likely the Fire Lord's bedroom, and to the right of that was a smaller set of two doors. At the left, there were two sets of double doors, the same size as the ones on the far right. There were also short hallways on the sides of the floor.

Iroh looked over the railing to the floor below, while Zuko turned left. He saw four guards patrolling the lower level in pairs. This wing of the palace was off limits to anyone, but the royal family, their invited guests, and their guards and servants. Iroh caught up with his nephew, who was now opening one of his two doors.

Zuko turned around half way and pointed to the pair of doors at his right. "That one is Princess Zula's quarters," he told his uncle.

"Thank you, Prince Zuko," Iroh said as Zuko walked into his room. He was about to open the door when he saw a note that read, "Unless you are Prince Zuko, you may enter." He smiled. Not to be mean to them, but he thought that their rivalry was rather amusing.

The prince sighed quietly. He used to play Pai Show and other games with his uncle, but not in the past two years. Zuko never had time to play games anymore. He had to capture the Avatar. Though, he is still a bit curious about why the boy had asked him if they would have a friendship if the war had not erupted yet. Zuko still remembered when he used to want friends, and maybe even a bit more with a certain someone.