Through Uncle's Eyes
Chapter Four: Zhao
The second we docked at the port and we stepped out to breath fresh air, my nephew turned to me.
"Uncle, I want the repairs made as quickly as possible. I don't want to stay long a risk losing his trail."
"You mean the Avatar?" I asked, still shocked that we had actually found him.
"Don't mention his name on these docks!" Zuko snapped. "Once word gets out that he's alive, every firebender will be out looking for him and I don't want anyone getting in the way."
"In the way of what Prince Zuko?" came a voice. Soon, Captain Zhao stepped out of the shadows.
Do you remember Zhao? He was present at Zuko's Agni-Kai. Well, I know for a fact that Zhao enjoyed watching my nephew being so cruelly punished. Zhao is a real ass-kisser when it comes to my brother. Why do you think he is a captain? If you ask me, Zhao has no real skill, his temper and pride always clouds his judgment. If you ask me, my nephew is both a better bender and fighter than Zhao.
"Captain Zhao." Zuko spoke.
"It's Commander now." Zhao replied proudly. "General Iroh, a great hero to our Nation."
"Retired General." I corrected him.
"The Fire Lord's brother and son are welcome guests any time." Zhao shrugged me off. "What brings you to my harbor?"
"Our ship is being repaired." I replied.
"That's quite a bit of damage." Zhao mused.
"Yes…" Zuko replied. "You wouldn't believe what happened. Uncle, tell Commander Zhao what happened."
"Yes, I will do that." I stated dramatically. "It was incredible!" I didn't know where to go with this, so I turned to Zuko. "What; did we crash or something?"
"Yes." Zuko shifted uncomfortably. "Right into an Earth Kingdom ship."
"Really?" Zhao acted interested. "You must regale me with all the thrilling details."
"Sorry, but we have to go." Zuko replied coldly.
"Prince Zuko…" I stopped him. "Show Commander Zhao your respect. We would be honored to join you. Do you have any ginseng tea? It's my favorite."
&
Moments later, we were seated in Zhao's tent. I had had my tea and was now inspecting some of Zhao's weapons.
"And by years end, the Earth Kingdom will be under our rule." Zhao finished. "The Fire Lord will finally claim victory in the war."
"If my father thinks the world will follow him willingly, then he is a fool." Zuko spat from behind me.
"Two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue." Zhao replied coolly. "How is the search for the Avatar going?"
The mention of the Avatar made me nervous, making me knock over the weapons stand.
"My fault entirely." I apologized.
"We haven't found him yet." Zuko replied. I must admit, Zuko is a good actor. He would have fooled me.
"Did you really expect to?" Zhao lectured. "The Avatar died a hundred years ago along with the rest of the airbenders. Unless…you found some evidence that the Avatar is alive."
"No. Nothing." Zuko stood his ground.
"Prince Zuko," Zhao continued. "The Avatar is the only one who can stop the Fire Nation from winning the war. If you have an ounce of loyalty left, you'll tell me what you found."
"I haven't found anything!" Zuko asserted. "It's like you said; the Avatar probably died a long time ago. Uncle, we're going."
Zuko got up quickly and was about to leave, but the spear of a guard stopped him.
"Commander, we finished interrogating the crew as you instructed." The guard spoke. "They confirmed that Prince Zuko had the Avatar in custody, but let him escape."
I saw Zhao smile.
"Now remind me…" Zhao spoke. "How exactly was your ship damaged?"
Another guard entered the tent and together, they forced my nephew down in a chair.
"The Avatar somehow escaped from two of my officers." Zuko growled reluctantly. "He escaped on his bison and redirected a fireball at my ship, causing snow to fall onto the decks."
"Don't forget to mention that he was only like what, 12 years old?" I added, taking a sip of tea.
"Uncle!"
"Oops. Sorry."
"So, a 12 year old boy bested you and your soldiers?" Zhao smiled. "You're more pathetic than I thought!"
"I underestimated him once, but it won't happen again." Zuko retorted.
"No, it will not, because you won't have a second chance."
"Commander, I've been searching for the Avatar for two years and I—" I saw fear in my nephew's eyes.
"And you failed!" Zhao finished. "Capturing the Avatar is too important to leave in a teenager's hands. He's mine now."
The panic quickly left my nephew's eyes and was soon replaced with rage. With an angry growl, Zuko got up as if he was about to tackle Zhao, fortunately, the two guards grabbed him and pulled his arms behind him, restraining him.
Don't get me wrong, I don't like seeing my nephew that way, but if he had done something, he could have gotten himself in even more trouble. Seething, Zuko turned his attention to the table with my tea sitting upon it and kicked it over.
"More tea, please." I requested as Zhao left the tent, as soon as Zhao was gone, I looked at my nephew. "Nephew, did you have to take your anger out on the poor tea pot?"
The guards then forced Zuko back down on the chair.
&
Zhao returned a short while later.
"My search party is ready." He spoke. "Once I'm out to sea, my guards will escort you back to your ship and you'll be free to go."
"Why?" Zuko retorted. "Are you afraid I'm going to try to stop you?"
"You? Stop me?" Zhao laughed. "Impossible. You're just a banished prince. No home; no allies. Your own father doesn't even want you."
"You're wrong!" Zuko shouted. "Once I deliver the Avatar to my gather, he will welcome me with honor and restore my right to the throne."
"If your father really wanted you home, he'd have let you return by now. Avatar or no Avatar; but to him you are a failure and a disgrace to the Fire Nation."
"That's not true!"
"You have the scar to prove it." Zhao replied coldly.
Uh-oh. I thought. Some Commander in this tent is going to get his side-burns ripped off…
"Maybe you'd like one to match!" Zuko exploded.
"Is that a challenge?"
"Agni-Kai, at sunset." Zuko replied.
"Very well." Zhao said coolly. "It's a shame your father won't be here to see me humiliate you. I guess your Uncle will do…" And with that, the Commander left.
"Prince Zuko," I was worried. "Do you remember what happened the last time you dueled a master?"
There was a beat before I heard my nephew speak icily.
"I will never forget…"
END CHAPTER
A/N- I guess I'll respond to your reviews.
SouthParkfan2- Thank you. I can't answer your question without really giving anything away, but I will say is that it depends on what you've been looking forward to.
Crazyzukofangirl1280- I must admit, I'm actually looking forward to writing the stuff at the end of the first season, because there are many things we can really only speculate on, so I think it will be fun. Actually, the book is correct. If you watch the newest previews you can see scenes that were present in the book.
PhantomWriter2.0- I read the spoilers at Avatar Wiki. However, after reading your comments for my Finding a Mother story, you may be a little disappointed. Or maybe not…