Hey guys, I'm back! Just thought I'd go ahead and put up chapter two, so here you guys are. Oh, and before I forget, the title of this fanfic, Mater Patriae, is Latin. It literally means, "Mother of the Fatherland," which was an honorific supposed to go to Livia, the first Empress of Rome; but her son Tiberius vetoed it. I thought it would be appropriate since this story focuses on Azula.
Also, I'm pretty sure I don't have to put a disclaimer on every chapter, but…just to be safe – I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender. I only own Zuko The Younger, son of Fire Lord Azula!
~ Mater Patriae ~
Chapter: 2
This small but highly secure prison was built shortly after the war had ended in victory. Some even claimed that it was more secure than the Boiling Rock; but others disagreed. Nevertheless, this specific facility was constructed to house the worst kind of prisoners in the entire Fire Nation…Royal Traitors.
However at the moment, there was only one prisoner residing there. The only son of Phoenix King Ozai, and brother of the current Fire Lord.
Zuko.
By this point in time he was infamous throughout the entire world. The boy Prince who abandoned his people, his heritage, his country…all for some childish Airbender who failed to stop the Fire Nation's march to absolute victory. Now he was paying the price for turning his back on his country.
When Azula arrived at the prison compound, the guards immediately kowtowed before her. She was followed closely by her retinue of a few Elite Guards, her personal servants, and of course her son; who was currently fussing in the arms of one of the nurses. This group was immediately greeted by the prison's warden. He had served as an officer in the Palace Guard, but had been 'promoted' a few years back to guarding the traitor Prince. He stood at attention and gave a stiff bow to his Fire Lord.
"My Lady, I did not know you would be arriving today to inspect the prison." He said in a quick and nervous manner.
Azula replied in a bored tone, "Don't worry, I'm not here to reprimand you on your deteriorating prison walls, or the fact that those guard posts are too far apart, or the fact that you have no patrols outside the prison itself. I'm just here to see my brother."
After giving her intimidating explanation, she smiled over toward the warden, who looked as if he had a run-in with a pack of Cobra-Badgers. He immediately stepped aside and allowed Azula and her Royal Entourage into the prison itself. While there were large cell blocks on the surface, the only inhabitant of this prison was kept underground in a large and cold environment.
As they made their way below, Azula grabbed her son from the servant holding him and ordered her entire entourage to stay behind. Only the warden followed her into the bowels of this dank and freezing dungeon.
"We have placed the prisoner into a small cell where you can speak with him, My Lady. Although the temperature will be cool it won't be near freezing level. So the prisoner could possibly Firebend." At this, Azula only smiled, "That is of no consequence. If my brother attacks me, I can easily defend myself. But if it makes you feel any better; post some guards outside the room."
"Yes, My Lady!" He replied quickly.
After walking further down a large tunnel, they stopped at a steel door to the left. The warden opened it for the Fire Lord and she stepped inside. The door was promptly closed behind her.
Looking around the dimly lit room, Azula could only make out the large cage adjoining the entire left side of the room. As she stepped closer towards it, a hoarse voice spoke out to her. "What do you want!"
She paused mid-step, and finally noticed a shape move in the cage. As it came closer, she finally recognized her brother…or at least a malnourished form of her brother.
Being imprisoned for ten years had not been kind to Zuko. His hair had grown long and shaggy, his skin was pale, even paler than normal, and he had definitely lost a lot of weight due to the terrible food in this retched place. But despite his state, Azula could see that fierce determination shining through his eyes like bright flames of hope. It sickened her.
"Hello brother. Am I interrupting something?"
Zuko didn't respond, he merely grunted and sat himself on the cold, concrete floor. It was at that moment that the younger Zuko chose to make himself known. He made a soft cooing sound and started to reach his arms up toward his mother. The former Prince noticed this and a look of surprise came across his face.
"Why did you bring your son?"
"Oh, you don't know? My little Zuzu is officially a Firebender." Azula bent her head down and rubbed her cheek against her baby's soft cheek and whispered just loud enough for her brother to hear, "Mama is so proud of her little Dragon." The elder Zuko however was not amused.
"Very funny Azula. A two month old child can't Firebend! Give him three or four years and we'll see." He then turned his head away.
Azula didn't respond. Instead she took her left arm and created a small blue flame at the tip of her index finger. She brought it close to her son's face who noticed it immediately and tried to grab the little fire. Zuko however was unaware of his sister's intentions. That flame was too close to the infant! The disgraced Prince jumped to his feet and tried to stop Azula from hurting her child.
"Azula stop! You're going to burn him! Do you want to mark him like our father marked me?! Huh? What are you…"
However in a split second, Zuko was silenced. Not by blue flames, but by tiny, barely distinguishable orange flames.
The child shot forth small flames from his hands which disappeared a second later. He was giggling while doing so; and Azula extinguished her flame, having proven her point.
Zuko couldn't believe it. His sister had been telling the truth! Her child could firebend! Now it all made sense to him. She came down here just to rub this fact in his face. The elder Zuko sat back down and refused to open his eyes while his nephew was still trying to grab his Mother's attention.
"Now do you believe me brother? My Zuko is already creating flames. Under my guidance, he'll be creating lightning by age five!" She proclaimed loudly.
For his part, the former Prince Zuko kept his eyes closed. He remained still and silent for another minute before finally looking at his sister and nephew and calmly replying.
"I may be in prison…but my nephew is the real prisoner here. Having you for a mother…I can't imagine a worse fate."
At this, Azula became angry. Her nostrils flared and she clenched her teeth, before approaching the cage and shouting back at her brother.
"How dare you! I am an excellent mother! I will be a better mother to my son than OUR mom ever was to us!" She started panting as she held onto her baby tighter, before continuing.
"My son will be a great warrior and a mighty firebender! He will rule the entire WORLD, and I will guide him to his destiny! I will make sure that when people remember the name Zuko, it is MY son they are thinking of…NOT you!"
As Azula was catching her breath, the baby in her arms began to cry. The shouting had frightened him, and he hid his face in his mother's chest. Azula placed her hand over his head and attempted to soothe him, while she still tried to regain her composure.
This little banter had not scared the elder Zuko though. He kept a neutral expression on his face, and when his eyes met his sister's, he quietly said…
"…Good luck with that."
This was enough for Azula. She abruptly turned away and walked to the door before knocking on it loudly, with her still crying son in her arms. She contemplated blasting the damn thing off its hinges before it opened, revealing the warden and a few guards on the other side. Azula said nothing as she brushed past them and started walking back up the tunnel.
As she was walking, her son had finally calmed down and was no longer crying. She held him up to look at him and, upon seeing his mother's calm face, he smiled and started cooing. Azula smiled back down at him before whispering quietly to him…
"…Don't listen to your Uncle. He is a fool…who knows only about tea and failure."
Well…another day, another chapter. Thanks for reading my story guys! Oh, and sorry if you were confused about the two Zuko's and who was who; I tried to differentiate them as much as possible. Anyway, if you could give me some reviews, I would surely appreciate it.
*Wink!*