Chapter Four: Hope Rising and Hope Destroyed

The next few days past and Prince Zuko continued to become animated and talkative. He and Tamara would talk longer each day until she thought that he needed to rest. General Iroh included himself in some of their conversations but mostly stayed on the side, enjoying his tea and his nephew's happiness.

Tamara says Prince Zuko is healing a little each day. Not only are his wounds healing, but his heart seems to be healing a little as well. However, I can tell that he is still hurt and Tamara seems to see it, too. Iroh was right, Tamara could tell when they seemed to talk about something that pained the prince and she would quickly change the subject. She could read his eye as if it was a book and she could see the pain that his father had caused emotionally. Iroh looked into his quickly emptying his cup, his brows furrowing in anger and disappointment.

How could my brother have done something so sinister? He looked up at his young nephew. Though everyone said and treated him like a prince and the heir to the throne, he was still a boy, one who still needed his father's love and support, something Zuko never truly experienced. Iroh watched memories from the past flash before him and saw his nephew growing up from a baby to a teen, always desperately trying to please his father and gain his love. He was still so young and to have to go through something like this at such a young age and by his own father … Iroh shook his head, he didn't want to think about it anymore.

He turned his full attention back to the two teens chatting away and laughing at events they had experienced while training. Zuko had just finished telling Tamara of a time when a boy in his division had set an unsuspecting soldier's hair on fire and it took him forever to realize what everyone was yelling at him about. They both broke out into fits of laughter and Iroh could not help but smile and chuckle to himself, he remembered that event very well. Tamara seemed to lighten everyone's moods, especially Zuko's, something General Iroh would have never thought possible. Whenever she was around he was able to see a change come over his nephew; the times they were alone Iroh was the one who did most of the talking but as soon as Tamara entered the chambers Zuko seemed to brighten up. But even if she made him the happiest boy on the outside, he was still the most miserable on the inside… things would never return to normal between father and son and Iroh knew it.

Everyday since his father had injured him, Zuko had tried to open his left eye but to no avail. Tamara had told him her suspicions that he would not be able to see anymore but he would not except it. The fourth day after the fight was no different; Zuko tried to open his eye while the bandages were off but it again ended in failure. He began to get discouraged and angry and decided to try one last time before he would have to give up for the day. Tamara had just finished cleaning his wounds when he tried one last time, and succeeded! The young healer watched in astonishment as he began to blink his left eye furiously, trying to get used to the light that had been absent during the duration of his injuries. After blinking for what seemed like forever, his eye finally became used to the light and he could keep it open for longer periods of time. Zuko smiled proudly, knowing that he conquered at least one obstacle in his recovery. Tamara smiled happily, the constant blinking meant that he was still able to see from his injured eye. After a few minutes had gone by she decided to test him, wanting to know if there had been any injuries to the eye that they did not know about.

"Prince Zuko, I want you to cover your right eye and follow my finger with your left, okay?" He did as he was told and followed her finger up, down, left, and right until she was satisfied. He sighed contentedly, letting his eye relax but then became startled and tense. For the first time he noticed that not only was he not able to open his eye the whole way, but his vision seemed to be blurry as well! Tamara noticed the change in his attitude and immediately became alarmed. She asked him what was wrong and he replied furiously

"It's blurry, I can't see clearly!" as he said this his right hand shot up and was about to try to rub the blurriness away when Tamara grabbed his wrist.

"Don't rub it, Prince Zuko, it won't help." she said sternly. "It seems that your eye did suffer some damage after all." she let go of his wrist, a small tone of apology in her voice though it was not her fault. She watched as he let his arm drop limply to the side, his look of alarm replaced with a scowl. Tamara looked across to Iroh who mirrored her expressions of concern and disappointment. She furrowed her brows together in thought, trying desperately to think of a solution when… Tamara leapt from her chair, knocking it backwards and startling both men. "Give me a few minutes to check something, sir, I'll be right back… and don't rub it!" she yelled back as she ran towards the door, leaving both men in silence to hear the echoing of her continually distancing steps.

General Iroh looked back to his nephew, not knowing what to say and not wanting to make it worse. Many minutes passed before they again heard the echoes of footsteps, this time approaching them. Tamara flew through the doors again, panting slightly and a hopeful smile on her face. She walked hurriedly to the nightstand and threw open her bag to reveal several rolled parchments and a few new plants. The young healer opened up each parchment excitedly and scanned the contents before she found the right one.

"Look what I found in Master Maruai's study." she said handing the parchment over to the two men. As they read the contents she reached into her healers bag and brought forth a plant with small leaves and small brownish berries. She began stripping the plant of it's fruit when two happy smiles caught her gaze. She smiled back to them and began again.

"This is called a figwort plant. It's berries contain minerals and vitamins that can help strengthen poor eyesight caused by injuries. It can't cure blindness but in your case, as long as your eye isn't too terribly damaged, it should help get your full eyesight back." she explained as she passed the berries over to Zuko, as well as a glass of water.

"Master Maruai's parchment says that 'no more than five berries a day should be eaten until differences are no longer noticed.'" Tamara read the parchment out loud making sure that nothing was misunderstood or forgotten. She watched as an excited Zuko threw all the berries into his mouth and chomped down on them. He gagged and immediately drank the water, a disgusted look upon his face. Tamara and General Iroh chuckled at his expression and then Tamara became serious. "Your eye is going to be very sensitive to light for awhile. I don't want you out in the sun without a bandage or a patch on for the next few weeks, understand?" Prince Zuko nodded, knowing the coincidences if he didn't.

"Good." Tamara replied, realizing that his other injuries needed to be taken care of and he needed to rest. She had just finished bandaging his wounds when the chamber doors flew open, startling all three of them.

They watched as two huge figures marched into the room, one form in front of the other. When they saw who was in front, the two teens and the old general held their breath. Tamara, upon remembering her place, immediately threw herself to the floor; kneeling in deep respect. Fire Lord Ozai walked towards his son's bed and, upon reaching Tamara and catching her eye, barked two words.

"Get out!" Tamara jumped to her feet and, bowing to him, walked hastily towards the door and passed the other figure behind him, Captain Zhao. The door was slammed behind her and she walked to the end of the hall, realizing what the consequences could be if it seemed like she was eavesdropping. She shuddered as she remembered the look in the Fire Lord's eyes and she knew that whatever was going to happen in Zuko's room was not going to be pleasant.

When he saw his father walk into the room, Prince Zuko sat up straight in bed. He frowned at his father's treatment of his friend but quickly turned to the matter at hand. General Iroh watched both father and son from his chair, his body tense, not knowing what to expect.

"Prince Zuko…" a frown was on Ozai's face, something his brother did not like.

"Father?" Prince Zuko replied, a small smile of hope on his face. His uncle could not believe it. His nephew actually thought that his father was going to apologize. General Iroh closed his eyes in sorrow, Zuko had always been like that; always expecting his father to come to him with open arms after they had had an argument. He looked back to his nephew in time to see his smile fade away.

"I am disappointed with you, Prince Zuko. My heir to the throne should not show such weakness and fear."

" Father, please…" Zuko began, afraid that he was about to be challenged to another Agni Kai.

"Silence!" The lord yelled, cutting off his son's pleas. "Again you show weakness and the signs of a coward. I have had enough. Until you learn respect and honor you are banned from the throne and the Nation. You are being sent to capture the one thing that can stop us from winning this war, the Avatar. Until he is under your custody you will not be allowed within Fire Nation waters, an arrest will be out for you if you disobey me!"

"You can't do that father! I am your son and the heir to the throne…" Prince Zuko yelled jumping out of bed. His right eye squinted in anger at what his father was saying, all fear forgotten. The torches that helped light up the room exploded with the Fire Lord's fury.

"You dare disobey me!" He did not have to go further, he saw a flicker of fear appear in his son's challenging gold eye. "I want you out of my sight in an hour. If you are not on your ship and out to sea within that time, you will be arrested." Ozai turned to go, leaving a stunned prince behind.

"You're not being rational, brother. We all know that the Avatar is gone. He disappeared a hundred years ago. You are sending your son on a goose chase." General Iroh stood up in defense of his nephew. He could not believe what his brother was doing. He watched angrily as Ozai turned to him.

"You will go with him, as of right now I have no son or brother. Once you bring me the avatar everything will be forgotten and Zuko will have his honor back!" the angry lord would not hear another word from either man and stormed out, followed by a smirking Zhao. As they left, Zuko became infuriated again, his fists clenching together and his arms engulfed in flames. A strange look came into his eye, a look of anger that seemed like it would never leave him. Iroh put a fatherly hand on his nephew's shoulder, a look of concern, anger, and astonishment etched across his old features.

Tamara sat down in the hall, waiting anxiously to go back into the room when she heard the door open. She looked up to see the Fire Lord and Captain Zhao approaching her. The young healer bowed her head to them both but immediately looked up when they stopped in front of her.

"You." Tamara flinched at the sound of his voice.

"Yes, Sire, what can I do for you?" she looked straight into the monster's face, his eyes glowing dangerously in anger.

"You are not to see Prince Zuko again. His injuries were to teach him a lesson and he will not learn anything if you interfere. If I catch you near him again there will be consequences to be dealt with, understand?" Tamara looked up to at him in shock. All fear and respect were forgotten as she stood up, the concern of a healer taking over her mind.

"Sire, your son needs medical attention. Without it he could get an infection or even lose…" she was not able to continue before the Fire Lord rounded on her. He sent her flying into the wall before she had time to react and watched as she collapsed to the ground in a heap. Tamara weakly touched her tender face, a black eye already forming where her lord had hit her. In truth, the girl was lucky that she had not suffered the same fate as Zuko, but Ozai did not have the time to waste his energy on a lowly peasant. Besides, what had General Hai said?- 'What better to use than fresh meat' - and this girl would definitely fit that category.

"Obviously, an order is not going to stop you. I know that Maruai has prevented you from going to war in the past, due to your insubordination and attitude and to insure that you'll not disobey my orders, you will be sent to war under Captain Zhao's command." Lord Ozai walked off then, leaving Zhao and the wounded girl behind. The captain looked down at her, a smile on his face and a strange look gleaming in his eye.

"Be at my ship at dawn." He looked over his shoulder then, noticing General Iroh standing in shock in the hallway. The captain gave the old general a stiff bow before leaving.

General Iroh had come out of his nephew's chamber, hoping to try to reason with his brother when he saw Tamara collide with the wall. He listened as both men told her she was going to war and then walked away, leaving the injured girl on the floor. As soon as Captain Zhao left, Iroh ran to Tamara, concern written on his face as he looked at her injuries. He watched Tamara shake her head, trying to clear her vision, and helped her stand up. Iroh could tell that she was clearly shaken up by the whole ordeal and decided it would be best to get her into a chair. He led her by the arm back to Zuko's chambers and both were silent.

Upon entering the room, Tamara looked up to see Zuko standing in front of a window, his whole body rigid with anger and pain. He turned around far to his left until he was able to see who had entered without his permission. When he saw the girl hunched over and helped by his uncle, the prince turned fully around and began walking towards them. As he approached, Tamara kept her wounded eye hidden and went to the nightstand, pulling out some blank parchment, a charcoal stick, and some of the plants that she had used on his wounds.

"Tamara, what happened?" Tamara continued scribbling on the parchment, not looking up at him. "Tamara!" she winced as he grabbed her shoulders, turning her so they met each other's gaze. Zuko gasped when he saw the dark purple bruise covering her right eye. Anger merged with concern, he wanted to know what had happened. "What happened to you? Who did this?" no answer came and Zuko was about to ask again when Tamara finally replied.

"Your father." Prince Zuko's eye glinted with anger at the mention of him. He could not believe it, his father hurt him twice in a single week and now he had hurt his best friend, his only friend. He looked to his uncle for confirmation and when his uncle nodded, he turned back to the girl in front of him. "I got this because I forgot my place. I spoke against the Fire Lord's orders and got what I deserved." She said firmly, pulling away from his grasp.

"Orders? What orders? What did he tell you?" Tamara explained to him all that had happened, every so often glancing at the doors, as if expecting the Fire Lord to barge in and catch her. When she finished, Tamara went back to writing, leaving the prince to ponder over everything that was told to him.

"Even though your father gave me orders, I will not obey all of them." Tamara began again, not looking up from what she was writing. "You are still my patient and my patients always come first. Just because I can't see you anymore doesn't mean that I can't still help you. This parchment has all the instructions on how to treat your wounds; what plants to use, a description of them when you need more and where to find them, and how to make the poultices and what to do with them." she said, handing the parchment and the plants to him. She glanced wearily to the door again before gathering her things. Iroh watched the two teenagers unhappily. He wished he knew what to do, but knew that his brother never changed his mind once it was set.

Tamara left one of her small bowls on the nightstand for Prince Zuko and looked up at him, her right eye almost as closed as his left. He reached his hand out to her, wanting to tell her that it would be okay. He rested his hand on her shoulder and a small smile lit up her face before it disappeared and she took another step back, getting out of his reach. She walked past both men, bowing to them as she reached the door and said goodbye. Before either of them could speak, she walked out and closed the door behind her. That was the last time Prince Zuko or Iroh saw her.

An hour passed quickly by and the fire palace looked down upon a banished prince, his uncle, and a handful of soldiers as they set sail towards the ends of the earth, on a wild goose chase, searching for a powerful being that had not been seen in a hundred years. Prince Zuko looked back one last time at his home land, fire racing through his veins in anger at everything; the palace that seemed to mock him, the other fire benders who seemed to cheer at his departure, but most of all his father, the one that took away everything from him. He clenched his fists together, flames igniting and licking harmlessly at his arms as he thought of his father. Just as flames ignited his arms, so did they ignite in his eye and heart. General Iroh watched a transformation come over his young nephew almost instantly. The one thing that seemed to cool the young man's heart was now gone. Iroh watched as the Fire Nation became just a distant speck on the horizon, not knowing where they were going or when they would be back… if they would ever come back.

………………………………...

That jerk of a father, I hate characters like Ozai and Zhao, but that is why they're there; to make the story carry on, to be the villain and to be the scape goat for any hatred one might have. I feel bad for Zuko and Tamara in this chapter, their friendship had only just begun again when they are separated, doomed to do things neither of them wanted to do (especially Tamara). Hope you guys are enjoying the chapters so far and the next one should be up soon. P.S. Sorry this chapter is so long, but that is how many of my chapters are and they are only going to get longer as the story continues.