A/N: Wow! So many reviews! You guys are fantastic! Thank you so much for reviewing, it was really motivating for me. I get the impression you guys have high expectations for this fic, so I hope it lives up to them. Argh, I'm a terrible updater, but I've had so many exams and finals, so I've been really stressed out. But if you guys keep up with the reviews, maybe it'll inspire me to write faster next time? Heh, no, I won't review-beg, but I will try to get the next chapter up faster. Promise.
Disclaimer: Sniffle I don't own Avatar.
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I didn't have the nightmare that night, but only because I didn't get to sleep. I couldn't get the thought of Aang out of my head. The way he looked the last time I saw him. He didn't just look unhealthy; he looked hopeless. And he told me I hadn't changed. To him, I was still the same person who killed the Waterbender, who threatened his friends, and who felt no remorse for his actions. I could understand how he could see me that way; what I couldn't understand was why I cared so much.
I thought about him all day. I had to see him again. I resolved to visit him that afternoon, but something got in my way; something called Azula.
I was heading down to see Aang when I bumped into Azula, quite literally. Coming round a corner, we collided head on and I fell to the ground. Azula dusted herself off and checked her clothes, fixing me with an icy glare. "Where are you going in such a hurry, Zuzu?" she sneered.
"I told you not to call me that!" I snapped.
"You didn't answer my question," she replied.
"It's none of your business, Azula!"
"Well, whatever you're doing, you do have duties, you know. Being Prince of the Fire Nation isn't all about a life of luxury and the promise of power. Perhaps, if you're not willing to act more like a prince, it would have been better for everyone if you had just stayed banished. I'm sure Father would have preferred it," she smirked, nodding at my scar.
Ever since I had been accepted back into the royal family, the scar had bothered me more than ever before. It was a permanent reminder of my disgrace, and it would forever mark me as the idiot I had been, and the son my father wished had never been born. I scowled at Azula's remark and stormed off.
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(Third Person POV)
Prince Zuko. What an annoyance. A thorn in her side. Things would have been so much better if he had just stayed banished, or better yet, if she had disposed of him before he was welcomed home.
For two short years, Azula stood to become Fire Lady when Ozai died. Then Zuko made his return, and everything changed. As Ozai's firstborn son, Zuko was the heir to the kingdom and would someday become Fire Lord. And that bothered Azula. It bothered her a lot.
She was the better Firebender, the better leader, the more mature, the more intelligent. Zuko had stolen her birthright, and she wasn't going to take it lying down. Azula had never been one to take anything lying down.
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(Zuko's POV)
I was keen to get away from Azula and hurried down to the dungeons faster than usual. When I arrived, I found the same guard that had tried to stop me from entering the Avatar's cell yesterday. Today he was much quicker to open the door and allow me in.
Aang lay curled up on the stone floor, eyes closed, looking peaceful. I stood completely still, breathing softly, scared I would wake him. He looked so calm, and I felt I could just stay there, staring at him forever…
The moment was ruined by that idiot guard slamming the cell door, waking Aang.
I winced as he sat up with a start. "Zuko?" he gasped. "What are you – "
I took a few steps toward him. "I just came to see you," I replied, kneeling down so that our eyes met. His wide eyes were full of mistrust; I sighed, realising that he thought of me as a monster. I tried to place a calming hand on his shoulder, but he flinched away from me. "I'm not trying to hurt you," I protested.
"Then what are you here for?" he asked.
"I already told you, I came to see you."
He didn't argue, and both of us were silent for a while. It was an awkward, heavy silence, and I needed to break it. I needed to say something, anything...
"Are you… are you doing okay?"
I couldn't bring myself to look at him when I said that, because I already knew the answer. The cuts and bruises, the chains digging into skin, the ribs poking out from under his smooth, pale skin… they were answer enough.
I didn't look up, even when he answered, but I heard the whispered, "I'm fine."
He clearly wasn't fine, but I understood; he wanted to end the conversation, wanted me to leave. Sighing, I got to my feet and took a few steps toward the door.
"Zuko?"
I paused when I heard Aang's voice behind me.
"Will you be back tomorrow?"
Did I hear hope in his voice? Or was that just wishful thinking? I hesitated, not sure how to respond.
"I – I'll try," I replied eventually, before pushing open the door and leaving.
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I wanted to visit Aang the next day. Even though he treated me with suspicion and mistrust, I wanted to spend time with him. For years I had been surrounded by the corrupt and the power-hungry, people who plotted against one another and who tried to please those with power over them. Aang wasn't like that. I found his presence refreshing, even if it did fill me with guilt every time I saw his perfect, fragile body covered with bruises.
But even though I wanted to see him, I couldn't keep visiting him every day. Azula was right, a prince had duties. I couldn't continue to waste my time. Besides, Aang didn't want me to visit him. He hated me for what I did to the Waterbender, and what I did to him. My efforts to make things right and earn his forgiveness only made him suspicious. Surely things would be better for everyone if I just stopped visiting the Avatar. The problem was, I didn't think I could. The more I thought about not seeing Aang again, the more I realised just how much I wanted to.
I realised that, almost for the first time, I was seeing Aang as a person, not a prize. With this realisation came a strange mix of feelings; sympathy, compassion, guilt and self-disgust, all rolled into one. I couldn't bear to think of what the Fire Nation had done – what I had done – to hurt Aang so much.
As I lay there exhaustion overcame me and I fell into a fitful sleep. I was having a nightmare, but this time I didn't see myself murder the Waterbender. This dream was entirely worse.
Aang knelt on the ground, trembling, frightened and half-naked, hands in manacles. A shadow fell over him, cast by a dark figure. I couldn't make it out very clearly in the poor light; the entire scene was lit by fire, which surrounded the two figures. I saw the fear and horror in Aang's face; I saw how he shuffled backward, trying to get further away from the dark shape, but was trapped by the flames.
And I heard the laugh as the figure raised a hand and Aang was engulfed in fire.
I screamed, cried out to Aang, cried to the Firebender to stop, but I couldn't even hear my own voice. Once the flames had subsided I stared, horror-struck, at Aang's body. It was blackened and charred, and his face was horribly burned, just like… Just like mine had been.
Tears pricked my eyes, and through the tears and smoke and flames I saw the Firebender who had done this to Aang. He looked up at me and grinned, and I recognised that awful scar over his left eye, that mark I hated so much. I screamed.
I awoke in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. I knew I had to keep visiting Aang; I had caused him so much pain already, and I had to find a way to make it up to him.
A/N: Erm, yeah, this chapter didn't come out as well as I'd hoped. Zuko's dream sequence at the end is based on Aang's vision in the season finale. You know the one, where he's opening the chakras, and he has to picture what he fears? Yeah, that one. I promise the next chapter will be better, longer and up faster. Thanks guys.