Zuko was a peculiar child.

His mother thought so.

His uncle thought so.

His nurse thought so.

The staff thought so.

Seven months after the boy was entered into this world. His Nurse discovered his crib to be empty. Screams of absolute terror did ring throughout the halls of the palace. "The prince has been kidnapped" she would call. "The firelords enemies have come for blood" she would call.

The royal guard would be deployed to search the palace. Hours would go by as they searched for the assailant that dare steal the prince of the Fire nation.

Of course the daring kidnapper would never be found.

Because they never existed.

Who would steal the child of a prince who didn't truly matter in the grand scheme of things. Not when the Dragon of the West led conquest throughout the Earth kingdoms. Stealing a boy who would never reach the thrown would have been a waste.

No one would have considered this. Especially not in their adrenaline fueled state.

No the prince was never kidnapped.

Instead the prince had become tired of the cage he sat in for the duration of what was suppose to be his nap. The prince had sat up on the place the the woman they called 'nurse' had called 'bed.'

The prince found that he didn't like the bed. He found it to be too small. He would often look through the bars towards the door that he had gotten only frequent glimpses through to the bigger room. He found he wanted to go there.

So he did.

He stood up on his tiny legs reached up to the rails of his cage and climbed. He fell on his butt once or twice, but he eventually made it over and promptly fell to the floor. It was his luck that the cloth they had wrapped around his bottom cushioned his fall.

He hastily stood and ran.

He exited the room.

Walked through the hall unseen to the many guards who patrolled.

and He explored to his hearts content.

It would be many hours before they found the boy in the royal library of the palace perfectly unaware of the chaos that he had caused. His nose shoved between the colorful pages of an atlas, his eyes focused on the red islands that the Fire nation called home.

Prince Ozai would have the nurse replaced, promptly.

Prince Ozai would have the guards replaced, promptly.

And Iroh would laugh to his hearts content when he heard the tale, his eldest laughing just as heartily beside him.

His mother would find herself marveling at her beautiful son. For the boy had taken his first step in less than a year.

She would then weep that she had missed it.


Despite the boys feat in one area, it would seem that he had failed in another.

By the age of three, he had never spoken a word. It was a fact that the boy had never even made a sound. Except of course the cries that any child would give when they were in need of either food or cleaning.

The princess would have the boy checked by the imperial physician. Perhaps the boy was deaf. Only for the physician to tell the concerned mother that this was not the case much to her joy. "Have patience." he would say "He will speak when he needs too."

So the mother waited patiently for months, but the child would never speak. For why should he when all his needs were met promptly.

So the mother waited in vain for the boy to speak.

But he would not until someone else needed him to speak.

He would speak during the storm.

To stop the terrified screams of his beloved sister.

The sister clutching to the children's new nurse in terror.

The sister who was terrified of the lightning and thunder that shook the palace walls.

The brother would remove the rain that fell from the sisters eyes.

The brother would whisper in her ear just loud enough that the nurse would hear.

"Sister, do not fear, I am here." the brother would say. "I'll always be here."

With this the brother had stopped the tears as she turned to cling to him.

throughout the storm he'd whisper comfort in her ear.

"Bubba," she would call until lightning stopped, and the thunder faded.

The nurse would report to their parents after the children fell asleep together in the girls bed. To tell of the words they spoke. Ozai would find himself frowning at the woman's words. The Princess would find herself mirroring her husband.

Princess Ursa would have the nurse replaced, promptly.

And she would find herself resenting the girl that stole her beautiful babies first word.

She would resent the word "Sister".

She had hoped that it would be "Mother".