A/N: I reposted this chapter because my whole story disappeared for some reason. Then it reappeared but without this new chapter, so I'm just doing the whole thing again. Content has not changed. This brilliant note is the only new thing about it. Thanks!
Chapter 10
After partaking of the extensive buffet provided by the Chikai Oceanview Inn, Katara and Zuko take some time to sit outside in a gazebo and enjoy the evening ocean breezes. The air is cool here and Katara pulls a shawl around herself as she sips hot tea and allows the rays of the moon to flow into her body and strengthen her spirit.
"I wish we could stay in Chikai for another day," Katara says, "It's such a cute little town."
"Mmm." Zuko distractedly fingers the braid on his over-robe.
"Mmmm." Katara mimics.
"Mmm?" Zuko raises his head and looks at her, confused.
Katara laughs out loud and smacks his arm.
"You haven't heard a word I've said!" She exclaims.
"I've heard every word, I just haven't listened to any of them." Zuko says in a most dismissive manner.
"Well, then I should just go to bed." She says, stretching her arms over her head.
"Wait." Zuko holds out his hand.
"Oh, so now you have something to say and I'm supposed to pay rapt attention?" Katara balks.
Zuko looks at her with such a remorseful expression that she sighs.
"Fine. What fascinating thing do you have to tell me?"
Zuko pauses a moment, seemingly in order to gather courage.
"It's about where we're going tomorrow. A village called Ikeni." He pulls a scroll out of an inner pocket in his robe. "There's somebody there I'm going to meet."
"Who?" She asks, leaning forward to peer at the scroll as he opens it.
What she sees is a document of birth.
"Who's this?" She repeats.
"A boy named Yukio. He's eleven. It appears he's my cousin."
"What? I thought there were no other royal family members left." Katara eyes the document more closely and recognizes the name of the boy's father, inhaling quickly. "Did Iroh know?" She asks quietly.
"Yes. He knew but he never said anything. He never told anyone." Bitterness drips from Zuko's voice as he pulls the top page off to reveal a lengthy note from his uncle. "Lu Ten was married only a few weeks before he was killed. It was a secret because she was a peasant. They might have gotten around that but they wanted to do it quickly knowing he was going to be joining the siege at Ba Sing Se and obtaining consent would have taken too much time. As it was it was all completely legal it just would have caused a huge scandal. And then he was killed, but they had already conceived a child."
Katara feels a swelling in her throat, thinking of the anguish the new bride must have felt at learning of her new husband's death.
"The boy's mother died of a fever before he was two and he was raised by his grandparents. Apparently they were so frightened of my father they kept the boy's royal lineage a secret and Uncle made a solemn vow to protect them." Zuko continues.
"But what about after Ozai…your father…was defeated? Why didn't Iroh tell anyone after that?" Katara is starting to understand some of the resentment Zuko must be feeling.
"The insurgency was just as dangerous to royal family members as my father was. If they had known Fire Lord Iroh had a grandchild, they'd have stopped at nothing to get to him."
"Okay, then what about after the Pacification? Why didn't he say anything then?"
"He left it up to the boy's grandmother. She's the only one left. She never gave him permission to tell anyone and he kept it a secret. I guess he couldn't die with it on his conscience so he left this information with me." He indicates the papers he's laid out on their tea table.
"Zuko," Katara begins worriedly, "Is there any way he can contest the throne?"
"No," Zuko shakes his head; "Uncle was very precise and thorough with all his documentation. As Fire Lord he set down a particular path of birthright. Yukio's only on the list in the event I die without an heir. And the fact that Uncle knew about him at the time of the preparation of the list is proof enough that his wish was that I become Fire Lord and not his grandson."
Katara takes it all in. She looks at the letter from Iroh, written in his bold, carefree hand, but pushes it away uncomfortable reading the personal words Iroh meant for only Zuko.
It's all enormously sad, but she understands Iroh's motives. It must have been terrifying to think that the only thing left of your son was a little child who, if discovered, would be vulnerable to attack by a ruthless dictator.
"So you're going to meet him? Has this been cleared with the grandmother?" Katara asks worriedly, foreseeing incredible disappointment for Zuko.
"I notified her I was coming to meet him. I didn't give her the option of denying me as my uncle did. I have no interest in hurting the boy and she'll have to accept that. He should be learning something of ruling this nation. He's next in line for the throne if I die without an heir. He'd be too easily manipulated as a poor kid out of the country with no experience. He needs to start learning." Zuko's diamond-hard voice is low and determined.
"Zuko," Katara puts her hand on his shoulder, "You know Iroh did the right thing by not telling anyone about his grandson, don't you? He would have been in real danger if anyone had known he existed."
"Yeah." But he could have told me.
"Please be careful with these people." She warns gently.
Zuko looks over at her. "I won't 'be mean,' if that's what you're afraid of."
She hears the smile in his voice and takes a deep breath.
"Well, see that you don't." She sits back in her chair and pulls her shawl around her shoulders like a prim, little schoolmarm, making him chuckle.
"Will you be there when I meet them? I think it might be less frightening if you're there." He asks.
"I'll come. But I don't think they'll be frightened of you." Katara says comfortingly.
"Who's talking about them?" Zuko sits back in his chair and stares at the moon, breathing freely for the first time since he received the cursed scrolls. It's so helpful to have someone to talk to on a personal level.
Katara takes his hand and squeezes it hard. He squeezes back and sighs.
"I wish we could stay in Chikai another day." Zuko says wistfully.
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Katara's cabin on the boat is luxurious compared to the one she'd had on Sokka's ship. Of course, many Fire Nation ships these days have more space for luxury since they're no longer outfitted for all-out war. She's been told that they'll be traveling mostly on the water for the rest of the week so she makes herself at home before she goes on deck.
She looks around the cabin and grins shakily, thinking how terrifying it would have been to be aboard a Fire Nation ship back in the days when she was traveling with Aang and the others. She remembers watching her young friend as he was swallowed by Zuko's ship that horrible day more than five years ago and feels an old knot in her stomach. This ship is actually of the same class as that old ship and the sight of it brought back strong, unsettling memories when they boarded it this morning. Of course, everything has changed, but in those days it seemed every moment might be their last and it's hard to break the cycle of fear. Going back to the South Pole and hibernating after the war hadn't done it, so she supposes nothing will, except perhaps time. She places her last items of clothing in the chest provided, shakes off the maudlin memories and leaves the room.
Once on deck she joins Zuko at the rail and waves to the villagers of Chikai.
"Will we stop here on the way back?" She asks hopefully.
"If there's time. Unfortunately, I'm on such a tight schedule I don't have a lot of leeway for pleasure."
"Hmmm. Well, maybe I'll make it a vacation spot in the future." Katara thinks aloud.
Zuko surreptitiously watches her interplay with the villagers. They're absolutely in love with her and why wouldn't they be? She's beautiful with a genuine, dazzling smile and she seems to love them back. They've had no actual interaction with her besides waves and smiles, but a connection seems already to have been made. Zuko wonders how she does it and if it's a skill that can be learned and mastered by a socially discomfited Fire Lord.
Katara holds her arms out to a bunch of children who stand on shore jumping around and waving at her. With a synchronized flick of her wrists a stream of water rises high into the sky and bursts in the sunshine like fireworks. The children squeal and run around as droplets fall on their heads like rain.
Katara looks up at Zuko and smiles brilliantly. To her this is great fun. A thrilling vacation. He grins back at her, feeling her optimism wriggle it's way inside of him and his feelings of apprehension for the day start to fade.
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Sokka eyes the horizon and focuses his glass on the spot his Lieutenant has isolated.
"It's big." He agrees seeing the large black shape looming far ahead of them. "Who is it, I wonder?"
Sokka checks his charts. They're in international waters, headed toward the Earth Kingdom. So far they've seen nothing of the pirates they're hunting, but this is an interesting development.
"It looks like a Fire Nation battle cruiser." Lt. Numu tells him.
"Well, it can't be Fire Nation." Sokka declares even as a tiny seed of doubt starts to take hold and sprout worry. Could Zuko's frustration at the vulnerability of his merchants have caused him to defy the Unified Counsel's edict?
Even Zuko wouldn't be that arrogant.
Yeah. Right.
"Let's get closer." Sokka tells his first mate and keeps his glass on the ship in the distance.
Sure enough, as the shape clarifies, Sokka can see the hulking steel of a large Fire Nation ship it's two trebuchets in tandem on the main deck, and what appears to be a red flag with a Fire Nation insignia flying from the bridge.
"Zuko, what are you doing?" Sokka whispers, peering through the glass, hoping against hope that he's not seeing what his eyes clearly behold.
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A/N: I have been outlining this story since early January and was incredibly bummed to see that one of my favorite writers is also using the "hidden royal family member" device in her current story. I thought about changing mine, but Yukio was always a major part of my idea and our plotlines are very different so I decided I'd just go where my imagination originally took me.
So I guess what I'm saying is…I didn't lift her plot device and I don't want any of our mutual readers to think me a thief. It's probably pathetic that I, an anonymous writer, would worry that anonymous readers would think me dishonorable but that's just the kind of obsessive I am.
And since I'm chatting here, I'd like to send hugs and kisses to Lovely Lady Jem who gives me such sweet encouragement with every chapter.
Thanks for reading!