Thanks again for those who have supported the story so far. It's always nice to see you guys responding in a positive way. This chapter takes place almost a year after the last one, right before Ursa's banishment so this deals with everything that happened in Zuko Alone with the addition of Akane. Also, Zuko is 10, Akane is 9 and Azula is 8. Now on with the story.
Gift From a Friend
Life at the Royal Palace never ceased to bore Akane. There was always something for her to do, so there was never a dull moment, especially since she had Zuko to keep her company. Sometimes Akane would sit and wonder what it would be like without Zuko. Probably not as good as what it was now. After a day of causing ruckus around the palace, Akane and Zuko were just spending time with Ursa at the pond while they fed the turtle ducks. While it wasn't the most exciting thing in the world, sometimes Akane just liked watching the turtle ducks as they swam around while Ursa and Zuko fed them. Akane was currently lying down on the ground as she lazily watched the mother and son together.
"Hey mom, want to see how Azula feeds turtle ducks?" Zuko asked excitedly as he threw the remaining loaf of bread in his hands at one of the baby turtle ducks.
Ursa gasped in shock at her son's behaviour. She would expect this sort of action from Azula, but certainly not Zuko. This was made evident as she voiced her disapproval, "Zuko! Why would you do that?"
Not happy with Zuko's behaviour, Akane playfully wacked him on the shoulder, causing Zuko to glare at her. In Akane's opinion, Zuko had that coming after following Azula's footsteps. He should know better than to do what his crazy sister did. Akane felt bad for the baby turtle duck, almost fearing for it until it resurfaced again. Her feeling of fear morphed into one of amusement when the mother turtle duck charged forth and bit Zuko harshly on the ankle, causing Akane to laugh. She had to admit, he also had that coming.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ouch!" Zuko yelled as the turtle duck continued biting his ankle.
Ursa then removed the turtle duck from Zuko's ankle and gently placed her back into the pond, where she swam off with her babies. Akane stifled back a few laughs as Zuko pouted at her.
"Not funny, Nene," Zuko muttered.
"Sorry," Akane apologised.
"Stupid turtle duck. Why she'd do that?" Zuko asked.
"Zuko. That's what moms are like," Ursa replied as she wrapped her arms around Akane and Zuko. "If you mess with their babies," Ursa joked as she playfully bit between the two kids. "They're gonna bite you back."
The trio laughed as Zuko stayed locked in his mothers embrace. After a few moments, Akane gently pulled away so they could have their moment. Even though Ursa was practically Akane's mother, she still felt like she was a part of something that she shouldn't be.
"You were mean to the momma duck. That's what you get for doing what Azula does," Akane pointed out.
Zuko sighed, "Now I feel bad. I didn't mean to hurt her."
"I'm sure you can apologise to her. Here, I'll get them to come back," Akane offered as she took a loaf of bread and gently ripped it into tiny pieces, so the ducks could eat them.
Soon enough, the turtle ducks returned and quickly ate the pieces of bread that were in the pond. While they were distracted, Akane carefully bent over and picked up the turtle duck that Zuko had thrown the piece of bread at. Since Akane always had a way with animals, the turtle duck didn't fret when the young girl took her from the water.
"How'd you do that?" Zuko asked.
Akane shrugged as she gently handed the turtle duck to Zuko, "They just love me. Now apologise."
"I'm sorry I threw the piece of bread at you, turtle duck. It won't happen again," Zuko apologised.
"Now put her back into the water," Akane instructed and Zuko did as he was told.
"How are you so good with animals?" Zuko asked his friend.
"I dunno. They love me, I love them. I don't throw bread at them, they don't bite my ankle," Akane replied.
Zuko pouted at her, causing Akane to laugh. It was so easy to rile Zuko up sometimes and although she didn't do it in a way his sister did, Akane still found it fun to mess with Zuko.
"Why don't the three of us head off to the barn? I'm sure the animals would love a visit from you, Akane," Ursa suggested.
Akane grinned, "I'd love to!"
After that, the threesome made their way towards the barn, so they could see the animals. Even though the barn didn't have the most exotic animals, Akane still loved visiting them and often dragged Zuko for the ride too. At one point, the trio walked passed the royal yard where Azula was playing with Mai and Ty Lee near a man-made river and a rather large fountain. While Mai sat and watched under the shade of a tree, Azula did a complicated flip but messed up the ending and grunted as she landed on the ground, causing Akane to laugh. Ty Lee then did the same flip, only she completed the ending perfectly and landed on her feet, with her arms stretched proudly in the air. Not happy with her friends display, Azula pushed Ty Lee over and laughed as she did so.
"Ugh! Azula!" Ty Lee whined as she got up, although she didn't appear to be that affected by Azula's actions.
As she sat underneath the tree, Mai caught the sight of Akane walking nearby. Mai never understood why Zuko spent so much time with that other girl, since she hardly seemed desirable with the way Azula spoke about her. When Mai caught the sight of Zuko beside her, Mai smiled as she turned away and blushed. Noticing Mai's obvious crush on her brother, Azula turned to Ty Lee with a plot in mind.
"Watch this!" Azula whispered to Ty Lee as her friend giggled before running towards her mother, Akane and Zuko. "Mom! Can you make Zuko play a game with us? We need equal teams to play a game!"
"I am not cart-wheeling. And I won't do anything with you if you're going to leave Akane out," Zuko replied.
"You won't have to," Azula stated as she rolled her eyes. "Cart-wheeling's not a game, dum-dum. And your little friend can join us as well if she has to."
"I don't care. I don't want to play with you! And neither does Akane!" Zuko exclaimed as he wrapped his arm around Akane who nodded in agreement. After the incident almost a year ago when Azula burned her hands, Akane always tread lightly around Azula and was only with her if Zuko was there too.
"We are brother and sister. It's important for us to spend time together! And this could be a chance for Akane and I to get to know one another better. Don't you think so, mom?" Azula said with a sickeningly sweet smile.
"Yes, darling, I think it's a good idea for you and Akane to play with your sister," Ursa agreed as she placed one hand on Akane and Zuko's shoulder.
"But you said you would take us to the barn," Zuko pointed out.
"We can go later. Go on now, just for a little while," Ursa said before she walked away, leaving Akane and Zuko both glaring at Azula.
Once all five kids stood together, Akane shot Zuko a nervous glance as Azula whispered something to Ty Lee. Zuko did his best to reassure Akane that everything would be fine, but even he didn't know that since Azula was always up to no good. Azula then reached for an apple on the tree that Mai was under earlier.
"Akane, you stand there and Zuzu, you stand there," Azula instructed them.
"What game is this?" Akane asked, since she didn't know any games that involved an apple.
Azula huffed, "I was getting to that. Here's the way it goes. Now, what you do is, try to be the first one to catch the apple after I throw it in the air."
Azula then threw the apple high up in the air while Akane and Zuko both looked at each other before charging towards one another. Once the apple started to descend, Azula shot a small jet of flame to the apple with her firebending and burned it on the spot. With nothing to catch and no time to stop, Akane and Zuko went colliding into one another and landed on the ground in one tangled heap.
"That's what you get when you play games with a peasant," Mai drawled, shooting Akane a disdainful look.
Akane groaned as she shifted Zuko's weight off of her. Once he was on his feet, Zuko offered his friend his hand – which she took – before he felt something shoved against his back which caused him and Akane to fall into the fountain together. This time, Azula, Mai and Ty Lee laughed as Akane and Zuko struggled to sit up straight.
Azula laid a hand on Ty Lee's shoulder, "See, I told you it would work!"
"Don't you think Zuko would look better in there with Mai?" Ty Lee asked.
"Definitely," Azula replied.
Once she got up, Akane struggled to get out of the fountain, nearly tripping over the ledge as she did so. Fuelled by her anger, Akane stormed towards Azula, ready to give the princess a piece of her mind.
"You're a bully, you know that Azula?" Akane asked.
Azula laughed, "What makes me a bully?"
"Well, you're rude, you're bossy, you threaten people and you're just not nice!" Akane exclaimed.
"I'm better than you," Azula boasted.
Akane narrowed her eyes angrily at the younger girl, "Just because you're a pretty little princess doesn't mean that you can walk around like you own the place! Ugh, you're just the worst!"
"So I'm pretty and the worst?" Azula clarified, knowing that it would upset Akane even more.
"Why do I even try?" Akane asked to no one in particular before she angrily stalked off, leaving Zuko behind as he got out of the fountain.
"Your friend should really learn some manners, Zuzu. She's hardly worthy of staying here with an attitude like that," Azula said.
"I don't know what you see in her," Mai added.
"Well Akane doesn't push me into the fountain!" Zuko exclaimed as he stormed off after his friend, who was already way ahead of him.
Once she was far enough away from Azula, Akane angrily sat down as she tried her best to dry her clothes, already feeling the water in places where it shouldn't be. Soon enough, Akane was joined by Zuko who sat down next to her.
"Your sister is such an… ugh!" Akane snapped angrily.
Zuko sighed, "We should've known better than to get in with Azula's stupid games. Those always end badly."
"I don't even know how she has friends," Akane muttered.
"Come on, let's get dried off and see if mom will still take us to the barn," Zuko suggested as he pulled his friend up.
"That would be better than any of Azula's games," Akane agreed.
The two headed towards the house where at that moment, Ursa came out from the house towards the duo with a scroll of paper in her hand before she spotted them. Their wet appearance didn't go unnoticed by Ursa.
"Why are you two soaking wet?" Ursa asked.
"Azula pushed us into the fountain," Akane replied as she shot a glare at the princess over her shoulder.
Ursa sighed, "Oh. Well, you two can get dried off now and then we'll meet in the main room shortly."
"Why?" Akane questioned.
"I just so happen to have a letter from someone who I'm sure you'd both love to hear from," Ursa answered as she held out the scroll of paper.
Akane and Zuko grinned at each other as they excitedly exclaimed, "Uncle Iroh?"
Ursa laughed, "Yes. Now, go get cleaned up and I'll read it to you shortly."
"Alright! I'll race you, Nene," Zuko challenged his friend.
"You're on!" Akane accepted before dashing off ahead of Zuko.
Ursa smiled fondly as she watched her son and the girl who she always thought of as a daughter race off against one another. It always warmed Ursa's heart to see the affect that Akane had on Zuko, since not many people brought out Zuko's soft side but Akane was one of the few who could do that. Ursa knew that they would both have a special friendship for as long as they lived, and Ursa was grateful for that.
~*•°•*~
Once they had both cleaned up, Akane and Zuko met with Ursa where much to their disappointment, Azula was too. With her children peering anticipatingly over her shoulder, Ursa unrolled the scroll before she started reading the letter from their uncle.
"Greetings, family. I hope that you are all doing well, just like how everything is over here. As I'm sure you're aware of, we only recently broke through the outer wall of Ba Sing Se and are well and truly on our way to succeeding in our great march of civilisation. Although I have only laid my eyes on the outer wall, I must say it is truly a sight to be seen. If the city is as magnificent as its wall, Ba Sing Se must be something to behold. I hope you all may see it someday, if we don't burn it to the ground first!" Ursa read Iroh's letter.
Akane, Azula and Zuko all laughed at Iroh's last joke. Ursa gave them a small smile before she continued down the letter, "Until then, enjoy these gifts."
Three servants dressed in white came up, and Akane and Zuko ran up to meet them. Ursa remained seated and continued reading, "For Zuko, a pearl dagger from the general who surrendered when we broke through the Outer Wall. Note the inscription and the superior craftmanship."
Zuko picked up the dagger admiringly, unsheathing it as he read the inscription, "Never give up without a fight."
One of the servants then turned to Akane, who carefully opened the box as Ursa told her what was inside of it, "As for his friend, Akane, I leave her with an elegant bracelet made from the finest jeweller in Ba Sing Se. Take notice of the beautiful crystal encrusted bezel forged from the city's most signature traits."
"It's beautiful," Akane swooned as she admired the jewellery in her hands.
"And for Azula, a new friend. She wears the latest fashion for Earth Kingdom girls," Ursa finished.
As Ursa read, Azula picked up her present which was a doll wearing green. Azula picked it up by the head with disgust, making sounds and sticking out her tongue.
"If Uncle doesn't make it back from war, then dad will be next in line for Fire Lord, wouldn't he?" Azula asked.
Akane looked at Azula in horror, "Why would you say that?"
"Azula, we don't speak that way. It would be awful if Uncle Iroh didn't return. And besides, Fire Lord Azulon is a picture of health," Ursa reprimanded her daughter.
"How would you like it if cousin Lu Ten wanted dad to die?" Zuko asked.
"I still think our dad would make a much better Fire Lord than His Royal Tea-Loving Kookiness," Azula muttered as she set the dolls head on fire.
"What did that doll ever do to you?" Akane questioned.
"Exist," Azula answered.
"Azula, you do not treat a gift that way. Uncle Iroh gave that to you for you to play with, not to burn it," Ursa scolded her daughter.
Azula scoffed, "If he really wanted to give me a good gift, he would've given me something like that knife or that bracelet. Why waste a perfectly good gift on someone like Zuzu and then this one who isn't even related to him?"
Ursa glared at Azula, "Young lady, we do not speak like that. Go to your room and think about what you've done."
"Fine, mom," Azula conceded as she strode out the room.
Ursa shook her head as she followed her daughter out the room, deciding that she needed to have a few words with her about how she treated Akane and Zuko. It always worried Ursa how little her daughter seemed to care for them, but lately Azula had been taking it to the extreme and Ursa had decided that it was time Azula accepted that Akane would be staying at the Royal Palace, just like Zuko was her brother.
"Can you believe her?" Zuko asked once his mother and sister left the room.
"I can. Azula's always been like that. She must've been dropped on her head one too many times," Akane replied.
Zuko laughed, "That would be fun to watch. Hey, why don't you grab your other dagger and we can have our own little showdown?"
Akane grinned, "That'd be epic!"
Laughing as they did so, the pair of friends ran throughout the palace halls without a care in the world. If only they knew that that would be one of their last moments like that.
I hope you guys liked that chapter and if you did, please review since I love to read them, and I respond to you down below! As for the story, I'm still debating on whether or not I should delve into the comics since we now know what happened to Ursa, but it is something to consider. Also, I'm not entirely set on the chapter title for this one so if you guys have any suggestions for that, let me know. If you like Flying Embers, please check out my other works as well that I update during the break of this story.
SPECIAL MENTIONS
Ravennalorren: Thank you for the review, and I'm glad that you like the story. Let me know if there's anything, even the smallest thing that I could improve on since that's all I want to do with my writing.
MakerofGames03: Akane's addition to the story will definitely change certain things, some for the better and some for the worst. She'll definitely be there for Zuko in the tough times, but their friendship will be tested. I'm glad you like my writing and the story so far.
uNICOrnDIANGELO: Young Zuko is certainly fun to write before he becomes the angsty pantsy that we know and love. Akane will also add a new layer to the story and I won't give too much away, but that's something she'll already be doing within the next few chapters.
WildflowerDar: It's nice to see that you like the story so far and I hope that you continue to do so. I've already got a few things planned for it that are only going to make it even more interesting hehehe.
