Chapter 2
It was a land of four elemental kingdoms, ruled by four simply unreadable kings. Why anybody would hold Hakoda, brother in law of Chief Arnook of the Joined Water Nations was beyond explanation. He was not particularly old, perhaps middle-aged and held no threatening ambitions. He spent most of the days before his capture, playing in the sea with the young children of his son. He bothered no one, and kept mostly to himself.
The Air nomads had no enemies. Their trade was fair, sending the exact amount of gold to the nations they traded with. Subsistence farming kept their numbers small, but strong, and lived a strictly vegetarian way of life. Their features were distinct, thin builds and intricate blue tattoos adorned their bodies. They respected their customs, and were the least troublesome of the four kingdoms. They lived alone in the high mountaintops and under massive cliff sides. The head monk of the Nomads ruled fairly, and declared no war.
The network of spies sent forth by the Fire Nation had traced Hakoda's exact location. After weeks of careful observance, an accurate map was produced of the dungeons layout, and Fire Lord Ozai prepared his son for the next mission. Many of the nations were at war. The Joined Water tribes were fighting amongst themselves, soon breaking out into a civil war, and the Earth Kingdom planned on wagering war on the Fire Nation, just for the sake of flexing their military might.
It had not always been like this. The Water Tribes, Fire Nation, Air Nomads, and Earth Kingdom lived in peace once. Centuries back, they had all been brothers, each learning the way of a different element and coexisting peacefully. However, jealously arose because the Fire Nation royal family became greater in every aspect. The Fire Nation civilization by far exceeded that of the Water Tribe, and their mechanics of war stroked fear to the remaining world. War broke out in small numbers, slowly pulling all the other nations into a murderous bloodbath.
The Air Nomads were separated by impenetrable mountains, thus, not much was known about their civilization other than their successful trade. Rumor was that the successor of the Venerable Monk Gyatso, was a young airbender named Aang. While traveling the four kingdoms, Aang fell in love with a lovely water tribe girl, but despite his declaration of love, she refused his hand in marriage. He was absolutely heartbroken, and left, never to be seen again. The water tribe girl was overcome with worry, and when her father disappeared, she begged to the council to let her search for him. They consented easily, since the girl was a waterbender, and a powerful one. In the Water Tribes, benders were respected, almost praised for their strength and warrior-like demeanor. At dawn, the girl set out and began her search at the bordering Earth Kingdom territories. Why had her father been stolen? What value would he be to the other warring nations?
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Zuko reached the Royal City hours ago after passing Hakoda of the Water Tribe to the palace healers. The hooves of their ostrich-horses clattered back into the city, their mission successful. As the pace of his elite guard slowed, he was sure to pull his hood closer over his face to make his entrance into the city less obvious. The horses brought their riders back safely into the back stables, past closed stores and empty plazas. There were rarely uncivilized brawling in the Fire Nation, for Fire Lord Ozai tolerated no such thing.
When the early morning vendors began to filter in the streets, Zuko dismounted his animal and handed the reins to a nearby stable hand. It was still somewhat dark as the rest of his elite guard jumped off their saddles and stretched their backs. Walking towards a single horse, Zuko gently shook the shoulders of Hakoda.
"My Lord, you must awaken," he asked. "I have not the strength to carry you up the steps of the palace."
Hakoda's blue-speckled eyes peered open, the cold lulling him back into the warmth of sleep. "Where am I?"
"Fear not, you are almost to safety. The Fire Nation will be your humble fortress."
"I didn't know the Fire Lord Ozai was one to conduct rescues."
Zuko hadn't expected him to act so ungratefully, but shook it off. "He's not."
"Zuko is your name, am I right youngling?
"Correct, My Lord."
"I've heard from tradesmen, that your eyes are the color of gold." Hakoda tried sitting himself up and squinted towards the torchlight. "Indeed, their rumors were no understatement. Like pools of amber, your eyes are. Does it comfort you, knowing that your eyes are so beautiful?"
Zuko was stunned by the man's direct comments, but then he replied. "No, Lord Hakoda, I would give up all the beauty and power to live the life of common folk." Zuko had decided that he rather enjoyed the company of this Water Tribe man. Not many approached him about his bending, and his accent slurred his languid speech.
As it played out, Zuko did carry the rescued man up the steps. As he arrived at the time, he was panting heavily from the intense physical labor, but luckily Lu Ten's quick steps echoed closer.
"Zuko, my cousin, must you be so loud? I'm sure the entire Fire Nation has heard your arrival already. "Storming through the city like you own it."
Zuko smirked, "I do." Lu Ten waved his hand passively, signifying that it was beside the point.
"Did everything go as planned?" His cousin asked.
"Yes for the most part, everything fell together smoothly." Zuko replied.
"Very well young Prince, I'll take care of the man now, go and catch up on rest."
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Zuko slipped past the red-tiled houses just as the rising sun spilled over the Fire Nation. He felt light, for the first time in many months, and as he slowed, he left heavier boot prints in the spongy garden soil, and approached the stables were several of his elites were already grooming their ostrich-horses.
"Don't be so haste now," an older guard chastised, "What if you were discovered sleeping outside the city? The Fire Lord would truly behead us if that were so"
Zuko brushed the comment aside and quickly interrogated, "Lord Hakoda is alright I presume?" His fellow guards nodded simply, "He hasn't awakened yet, but last I heard Lu Ten was taking great care of him."
A young stable boy brought the men fresh loaves of bread, and cheese. They split the rations and discussed future plans. "Why so uptight, Prince Zuko? You have only just arrived a night ago, and yet you're already increasing our training procedures?" Zuko knew they thought him critical, but he didn't mind for it was true. Day and night his training would not cease till he reached the peak of perfection.
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The beginning of thick woods signified Earth Kingdom territory. As Zuko and his guards rode through the morning, they calculated that their destination would be in reach by late afternoon. After finishing his business in the Fire Nation, Zuko was automatically dispatched the following day for an investigation round. Before their departure, Zuko had spoken briefly with Lu Ten, asking if he knew anything of the captured Water Tribe man. Lu Ten admitted he knew nothing, but promised to keep an open eye on the man's condition.
Zuko lay on his back and listened to the steady breathing of the guards around him. He however, was plagued with that of insomnia. Sleep eluding his grasp like sand slipping through his fingers. He watched the sky turn from a blotchy pink to the brilliant crystal blue that matched the color of his mother's turtle duck pond. Two days of hard riding, and sleepless nights, Zuko was awake with alarming alertness.
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The first time he'd hurt someone in the singular interest of Fire Lord Ozai had been in a village, bordering not far from their current camp. Zuko had been ten years old at the time, having spent two years to keep his wild bending under control, the Fire Lord decided he was adequate enough for his first mission.
His father had summoned him to the council room during Zuko's morning training session.
"Are you finally ready to do something useful with your bending?" His father boomed at him.
Surprised that his father would think something useful from his shunned talent was uncharacteristic of him.
"Hmm," Ozai mumbled, smirking at his son's gravely silence. "Listen up boy, I'm sending you to the city of Kaizan. You're to hunt down this traitor, and kill him in the public square. No weapons, just your bare hands."
Zuko looked in apparent shot, his young amber eyes in horrid disgust. However even he knew better than to speak against his father's commands.
"I hope you've learned to control your bloodlust by now," his father spat.
Bowing humbly, Zuko shrank back, digesting the bloody spectacle his father ordered him to commit. The very next day, the young assassin was sent out, accompanied by a small elite group. The traitor was snuffed out easily, and dragged to the public square. Zuko could smell the fear in his eyes as he begged to the ten year old boy under the tension of hundreds of gazes. With mercy, Zuko pressed his small hands against the man's throat, and snapped it quickly. An instant death. Just the way he liked it.
When he returned to the royal city, his father was furious. "What is the point of a public execution," he said, "if the assassin shows mercy to the traitor? A death without blood, is not worthy of your skill." He was practically snarling, but Zuko didn't care. As punishment, he was locked away for weeks on end, in the dark depths of his room until he was on knees, bowing and begging to his father to forgive his ineptitude.
After that, Fire Lord Ozai's commands would include a specific method of killing, including a measurement of how much blood would be spilled. There was no way to twist around his commands. The more Zuko killed, the more he grew comfortable around its atmosphere. His reputation as a bending killer spread like wildfires across the land. Everyone feared the Fire Lord's mysterious assassination toy.
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On his many travels to perform the Fire Lord's bidding, Zuko learned of many tales, rumors, stories, and information only passed through the cryptic language of spies. Secret dungeons on bordering nations and uncovered paths through mountain ranges that led to Air Nomad temples. Zuko would push all this information into the back of his head, raising mental barriers to keep his father's interrogations as simple as possible. He wouldn't take a life if he didn't have to, and knowing less meant killing less.
He met many people-innkeepers, blacksmiths, swordsmen, farmers, and local merchants. Everyone, he learned, was tired of the Kings' tyranny from all four nations, and under Zuko's supervision, he would soon be involved to deeply in the shackles of political spats. He was his father's tool, used to commit the murders the Fire Lord himself was to proud to execute. Somehow, he had learned to accept this existence, for he knew that he wasn't normal. No girl would want to marry him; no girl would want to marry a pure-eyed bender. He would never know the warmth of a family, or of a woman. To come home at night, tired from a hard day's work and find his wife and child comfortably asleep. This was the nonexistent reality he dreamed of.
Though, his father did push upon him political marriages. He remembered one specifically, a noblewoman named Mai. She was duller than an old ostrich horse, and wore nothing but drab black clothing. Her expression was darkly placid, and only spoke when spoken to. Her family had agreed to the marriage, but Zuko refused, successfully convincing the Fire Lord that a woman would simply weaken him. Mai was swiftly sent home the following week, and for all he knew she was still sulking and playing with her little red blades till this day.
Tired of his wandering thoughts, Zuko commanded himself to sleep. Instantly, tiredness swept over him like a blanket, and he was asleep under the deep glow of moonlight.
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When morning came, the guards woke up one by one and rinsed their faces in the nearby stream. They dressed in padded armor and thick linen guards. The head elite was dressed in his commanding uniform and Zuko changed into a thin silken shirt and black trousers. On the hem of his shirt was the royal insignia of the Fire Lord's court signifying Zuko's royal status.
"We'll arrive at the Earth Kingdom in about two hours."
Zuko nodded, "Is there any information about the Earth Kingdom that I must make not of?"
A soldier piped in and offered his advice, "The last time I traveled to Omashu, I heard that the Earth King's daughter is a bender. Fear not though my lord, she's young and very incapable of controlling her power."
Again, Zuko nodded and made plans for their departure.
In the Fire Nation, benders were shut out from the cities. A child with pure eyes took weeks, months, and occasionally years after its birth to develop his bending. Every mother would lie awake in fear, hoping that her child's eyes would remain its natural speckled color. For when a child's eyes turned one color, a pure color, it meant his bending awakened. Immediately, the soldiers would come and take the child away, never to be seen by his parents again. To keep the child was treason, and punishable by death.
The Earth Kingdom was said to have an army of benders, powerful men who willed the rocks of the earth to shake loose and thrown at impossible distances.
"Be cautions," Zuko warned his men, "Benders are not uncommon in the Earth Kingdom."
A massive earth wall encircled the vicinity of the Earth Kingdom, keeping enemies afar. Zuko slipped his hood off onto his shoulders, revealing his stunning amber eyes.
"I, Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation have come to speak with Nobleman Bei Fong."
The soldiers took a solid stance, bending the wall open and allowing entry to their guests.
"Would you like an escort My Lord?" A warrior clad in green and grey approached Zuko and his elites. With a wave of his hand, Zuko dismissed him and continued along the upper ring to the nobleman's estate.
"Lord Bei Fong," Zuko acknowledged.
With his sleeves folded into the large confines of his silk sleeves, the nobleman bowed slightly, "What brings you to my humble home Crown Prince Zuko?"
In his mind, Zuko sneered, for the man's home was anything but humble. Pushing his thoughts aside, Zuko continued to state his business. "Your daughter's talent has reached the ears of the Fire Lord," Zuko swore he could see the man's face turn pallor. The Bei Fong noble stuttered, "It is a great honor."
"We request that she serves the Fire Lord personal guard."
Shaking his head, the man pleaded and begged, promising to pay double his weight in gold if Zuko were to let his daughter stay in Ba Sing Se. It was Fire Lord Ozai's strict orders that Zuko was to kill the man if he refused. He admitted though, that the nobleman was brave. Most would cower in fear, whimpering and begging for their lives. As Zuko raised his dagger to slit the man's throat, he stopped. Sheathing his small knife, he claimed, "I have more honor than to slit the throat of a man who wants only to protect his daughter," With that said, he fixed his gold eyes on the quaking nobleman and commanded his elites out of the city.
When he and his men were safely back at camp, Zuko breathed a heavy sigh of worry.
"I am in no position to question your decision Prince Zuko," His commander admitted, "But was it really wise to defy the Fire Lord's orders?" Zuko was not so sure himself. Instead, he began to devise a plan, the plots unrolling in his mind.
"Orin," he said.
"Yes my lord?"
"When we return to my father, you are to tell him that I was defiant of his orders."
Orin gaped at Zuko's suggestion and said stammering, "B-But my prince! The elites will seve on your side till death."
The prince's expression softened, "I know Orin, my good friend. But my father's orders are becoming inhuman, cruel and I have the right to maintain my humanity."
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"Welcome back, my son." His father greeted at the dining table. "Come, it is not too late to join me in a late lunch."
Zuko politely refused, but sat down on his father's right side. "The Nobleman knows nothing of the kidnap of Lord Hakoda. He refused to turn over his daughter as well." Fire Lord Sozin seemed unaffected, "So you killed him." It was not a question; it was mere statement, a fact.
"No father."
Ozai glared at his son, eyes orange with fury, "You dare disobey my direct orders?"
The conclusion of their conversation was a blur, he could taste the blood in his mouth as he allowed his father to beat him and kick his ribs and stomach.
For the next week, Zuko was locked away, and observing through his bedroom window, a peculiar blue-eyed girl resting behind a tree.
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Author's Notes: As you know, Avatar does not belong to me. Disclaimer, blah blah blah. Also, credit goes to the author of a fantasy novel I read recently for inspiring me to write an ATLA fanfic about it. WOHOOO chapter 2! Sorry if it's not instantly romantic. I promise you though; there will be some Zutara fluff moments later on, not too soon though. Tell me what you think! I'd really love to know!
Best Regards,
Alicia