Iroh came, and another woman, who Zuko took to be the healer Ilora. She was old, older than Iroh, but not as old as his grandfather. She had a slight stoop, and her hair was looped back with beads.
"Ah, nephew, I see you are more alert." Iroh said. Zinna stepped in after them, holding a bowl of something steaming.
"Uncle, what's happening?" Zuko asked. Iroh looked pained, but knelt down next to his cot. Ilora went to the other side, to tend to the bandage, while Zinna stood smiling at his feet.
"Well, there has been a coup." Iroh started and Zuko started upright. Ilora placed a bony hand on his chest and pushed him firmly back down.
"Is my father alive?" Zuko asked. Iroh sighed and Zuko's pulse shot up. He could feel the prickle of his blood rushing through his arms and legs.
"Your father is the one who started the coup." Iroh replied. Ilora pulled off the bandage and Zuko's eye immediately watered.
"What?" He asked. Ilora hummed quietly to herself as she wiped away at the paste.
"Azulon." Iroh stopped and sighed again. "Azulon was going to announce the official line of succession. Ozai found out that I had named you my heir and had decided to take matters into his own hands." Iroh fell silent and Zuko waited for him to continue. Ilora continued her humming and applied a new paste, dabbing gently at the area around his eye.
"Your father had your grandfather poisoned. He was planning on removing me as well." Iroh finished. Zuko turned his head so that he looked straight up at the tent. The insects whirred and whined in the heat. He laid back and felt the lines Ilora traced with her fingers. He felt the odd plasticity of the skin nearest his eye, how it resisted her touch. He laid in silence as she replaced the bandage.
His father was now the Fire Lord. For how long they had been travelling, the coronation would have long since passed.
"Where is Azula." Zuko said.
"Most likely still in the palace, if they haven't moved her." Iroh replied.
"She is his heir." Zuko said.
"Yes." Iroh replied, softer now.
Death was the only way to make the second born heir. To be passed over was to have been given a death sentence.
"The current story is that I had your grandfather killed, because he was going to name you the crown prince. Before I was able to slay your father, he bested me and I escaped, taking you and your mother with me." Iroh continued.
Zuko turned his face away, looking now at Ilora. The lines in her face were deep and dragged her cheeks down. As she managed a small smile, it looked like her flesh was melting down her face from the inside. Her skin was dark, weathered, and leathery. Her eyes, though, were a bright blue.
"You're from the Water Tribe." Zuko said. Ilora's smile fell and she nodded solemnly.
"I am from the South Pole." She said. "I followed after the ships that took my wife."
"Will my eye ever heal?" He asked. Ilora reached up and patted Zuko's shoulder with her clean hand.
"In time. Your sight should not be affected. Your sister did not intend to maim you." She answered.
Zuko didn't respond, only turned his head till he was looking back at the roof of the tent. Ilora groaned softly as she stood and Zinna approached.
"Would you like to eat now Prince Zuko?" She asked. When he didn't say anything, Iroh reached up over his chest.
"I will take it Zinna, if you please." He said and she handed him the bowl. Iroh held it in his lap while he waited for Ilora and Zinna to leave.
"Where is my mother?" Zuko asked.
"She has gone to Hira'a. She believes she has found something useful there."
"Where are we going?"
"There is an Earth Kingdom transport we will take at Hudai." They were silent again and Zuko listened to the voices outside of the tent.
They would hide in the Earth Kingdom, but Zuko knew that wasn't the main plan. Had they only been fleeing Ozai's wrath, he would only be in the company of his family, and Master Piandao's household. Instead, they were travelling in a large caravan, looking very much like refugees. Zuko had of course heard of these types of travellers, usually poor villagers who had their land taken by the government in order to build more factories or mining facilities.
This group, as Zuko had both seen and heard, were varied. If Ilora had followed after her wife, most likely she had been to the prisons. But there were Earth Kingdom natives, and other blue eyed people. Why they had ever congregated in the Fire Nation was beyond Zuko's mental grasp, but he could piece together what it meant.
They were building an army. But for how old many of them were, Zuko couldn't decide if this was a coalition of soldiers or sages.
He wondered what his place in this army would be.
"I'd like to eat now." Zuko said as he struggled upright. Iroh helped him sit up and then handed him the bowl. It was stew, with chunks of unfamiliar meat. He poked at the vegetables in the thin broth and his mouth twitched.
He would not cry. Never again would he cry about things that happened to him. He had to be strong.
"I'm sorry Lu Ten died." Zuko said softly. Iroh's breath hitched, but he simply placed a hand on the edge of Zuko's cot.
"I am glad that you survived nephew." He replied, just as gently.
Zuko took a bite of the stew. It tasted like ashes.
