Voice
Swimming in the frigid water of the north pole, Zuko decided, hadn't been that bad. Cold, very cold, and one mistake, one tiny error in judgment and he would have died. One of the absolute stupidest things he'd done too, or at least up there with running a Fire Nation blockade. No real plan, no stages to completion to speak of, nothing. He'd been able to focus though, every conscious thought was devoted towards making sure there would be another stage in the excursion. Now, now his thoughts were so jumbled up that he was recalling events that really had no bearing on the situation. At least he was pretty sure they didn't, but his train of thought had lead him there somehow. Something to do with Uncle, or the waterbender. He had to squint his eyes closed, as even thinking of them made his head swim. Wait, it was already swimming, because of them, and because of Azula.
He'd spoken with the waterbender, Katara, albeit briefly, and had shared things he never really spoke of with anyone. When she first saw him in the cavern she'd been angry, but she was also sad, scared, and hurt. He heard it behind in her voice, behind the anger and rage he displayed, even before he snapped at her and she was reduced to tears. The Fire Nation took her mother, and now he seemed poised to take away even more of her family.
Fear was a powerful weapon in battle, but they weren't fighting, and he really didn't want to fight. He too was sad scared and hurt. So he laid his blade before her; he apologized to her and sympathized with her, because he knew what it was like to lose a mother. To have other family members that you can't see, that you might never see again. She listened to him, she listened and understood. She spoke kindly, spoke of helping him, freeing him of his past. She knew him, who he was and what he'd done, and she had been willing to look past that. Only uncle had ever offered him that kind of compassion, and he was family. For more than three years Uncle was his only family, and even he seemed to be of the impression that Zuko should help the waterbender, help the Avatar.
He might have too, had Azula not placed her offer on the table. Return home, return to father, not in shame or defeat, but as a hero. Everything he'd struggled and fought for these past three years, it was finally within his reach. All he had to do, was betray the only people that knew and accepted him...
If he chose to help Azula he'd be helping his father, helping his people, but she'd always been a snake in the grass, manipulator, a liar. If he chose to help the Avatar he'd be helping the world, the people he'd seen suffering all around him, not to mention Uncle and the waterbender, but the Avatar was naive, and his sheer ignorance at times was enough to boil the prince's blood. He barely even knew the child. He was right back where he started; who does he side with? The liar or the idiot? When the liar stabs you in the back, you know it intentional. When the idiot stabs you... did he really want his death to be an unfortunate accident?
While not really Zutara, I did write this in response to the March Zutara prompt: Muse. I'll also be honest in saying that I am a bit of a Zutara fan (Zuko taking the bolt of lightning won me over), but I'm also not confident in my ability to write any sort of romance. Instead I tried to dissect some canon and find something where Katara might have served as an inspiration for Zuko. Here I wanted to focus on Zuko's feelings after talking with Katara in the crystal catacombs but before he decided to side with his sister. When Zuko spoke with her during The Waterbending Scroll, he spoke of his lost honour, something Katara wouldn't exactly be familiar with. Speaking with her about lost family members, that she can understand. Some might ask if Katara was a Muse to Zuko, why didn't he side with the Avatar then and there? Simplest answer is, she was just a muse, one of many that eventually lead to his decision to turn against his father. Ursa, Iroh, Lee, Jet, Katara and many others were responsible for either showing Zuko what was good and right (in the case of the former two), and what was evil and wrong (the latter three). I'm not saying that Lee, Jet or Katara were evil or wrong, but rather what they had suffered because of the Fire Nation. Of those three the only person that still offered Zuko a hint of compassion after knowing who he is and where he came from, was Katara. Thanks to everyone for reading.
-fallendeathlord