Chapter 28
A/N: Chapter twenty eight in the series. Thanks again to Rosey for her great help, so if you catch any grammatical mistakes here, it's her fault, hehe.
Disclaimer: Avatar… belongs to Nickelodeon.
With a Little Help from my Friends
Azula thought her father's eyes were about to explode.
The news coming from the front was less than pleasing, prompting a wall of blue flame to surround the current Phoenix King; making even Azula take a few steps back.
"This is unacceptable." The king said, his voice dangerously low. "Who is responsible for this failure?"
The soldiers kneeling in front of him shivered, knowing their lives were on the line."Our general fell in battle, My Lord." One of them quickly answered. "Only a few of us survived, and those who weren't taken as prisoners flew back to the city."
"Why?" Ozai asked, the fire around him flaring for a moment. "You should have defended your position, or die trying."
"We believed it best to come with this dire news to you, My Lord." the same soldier continued, hoping he could come up with a reasonable excuse and manage to keep his life. "And to inform you of your brother's part in our defeat."
"My brother?" Ozai's voice wavered. "What has Iroh to do with all of this?"
"He's one of those who turned the tide of the battle, My Lord." The soldier carried on. "He and some other Benders from different nations. They all wore identical robes, my lord, with…"
"A white lotus in it, yes." Ozai interrupted. "I thought this order to be extinct by now. Another mistake."
"My Lord?"
"Azula." Ozai said, his voice again soft. "What do you think we should do?"
"I believe our soldiers are lacking in discipline, Father." Azula replied, with a cruel smile on her face. "Now that the enemy is knocking on our door – literally – we should set some…examples."
"My thoughts exactly." Ozai said. "Take these three cowards and execute them in front of every remaining soldier we have. As of now, my dear daughter, you are Fire Lord, and your first act as such will be to lead my troops to victory."
"I'm pleased, Father, but I thought…"
"You thought what?" Ozai shouted. "There is no time for a coronation! Not with the enemy outside my gates! Bring me the head of my brother and I will give you the greatest ceremony you have ever seen! Now go and do as I say!"
"Yes, Father." Azula bowed before her father and left the room, glancing at the three poor souls she was about to execute.
"Bring them to the front yard." she said to another soldier standing guard. "Assemble the army. All of it. Oh, and every citizen as well, if you may."
"Yes, Fire Lord." The soldier nodded.
It sounded strange to her ears, to be called as such, but what bothered her the most was that she didn't have the crown on top or ofher head, and her brother had not witnessed the moment their father had given her what was rightfully his.
'Speaking of you, big brother, let's see how you are doing.' she thought as she slowly headed towards the dungeons. She figured she had to give the useless guards a little while to assemble the remaining soldiers and their entire Nation, all the while feeling something growing at the bottom of her stomach.
It struck her a couple of minutes later; she had never killed anyone, and now she had been ordered to execute three men in front of hundreds of people.
A second later, she threw up her breakfast all over the wall.
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Alone in a dark pit, Zuko wondered how much longer they would keep him waiting.
He was cold, hurt, and hungry; yet he didn't dare to fire bend in order to preserve as much energy as he could. He didn't know how much time he had left, but he was sure his sister had ordered him to be kept only alive, not well treated, until his execution came.
For the last hours, or days, or however long he'd been there, the only thing he'd eaten had been a cup of water and bread - enough to keep him alive but not enough to recover his strength.
Zuko stared at his bandaged arms for a long time; they had been stained with blood long ago, but now they were covered with dirt and other things he didn't want to know what they were. The pain in his arms and his body had lessened, but that didn't mean he was improving.
Maybe he was slowly dying, and his body was growing numb by the minute.
Fear and anxiousness kept surrounding his mind, trying to erode his already weakened state and throw him into despair. Zuko shook his head, and focused instead on trying to feel his energy course through his body, giving him as much heat as he could.
Blessed warmth ran all over his back, and he even welcomed the searing pain in his burnt arms and smiled when he could see his own breath.
"I wondered if I would ever see you again."
The voice scared Zuko, whose back had been turned against the iron bars, unable to see, and too distracted to hear if someone approached.
Still, he didn't need to turn around to recognize the voice that was now speaking to him. It was one more of the trails that awaited him.
"Hello, Mai." He said softly, without turning. "How have you been?"
"I have been better." she replied, her voice as monotonous as ever. "My family, however, is not. Father died last night, fighting in the revolution you inspired."
"I'm sorry." Zuko sighed. "I looked for you."
"In the Boiling Rock, yes, I've heard." Mai said. "Reckless – and foolish – of you, since my uncle was the warden and I didn't spend the night there. By the way, my uncle also died when you raided the prison."
"I'm sorry for that, too." Zuko sighed.
"Is that all you have to say?" Mai asked. "After all you've done, after everything and everyone you left behind, that is all you can say?"
"It's the truth." Zuko slowly stood up, feeling bones crack and muscles scream in pain. "I never meant to cause you any harm."
"But you have!" Mai lost her temper for what seemed to be the first time in her life. "What were you thinking, Zuko? Take on the entire Fire Nation by yourself? That is treason, it's murder, and it's crazy! What made you think you could do it?"
"It's already done, Mai." Zuko then turned to face her, and she gasped when she saw the deplorable state he was in. "From what I've seen and heard, the enemy is closer than ever before, and that means my job is done."
"Your job?" Mai asked, walking closer to the bars. "What do you think you've accomplished, Zuko? The murder of your people? Of your very kind? The downfall of your family?"
"That's exactly what I was doing when you helped me escape the Boiling Rock." Zuko replied. "But then you all thought it would be The Avatar the one who would do it all."
"Because that's what The Avatar is supposed to do!" Mai shouted again. "What are you doing, Zuko? Tell me, because I don't understand! You have slaughtered half of the Fire Nation Army; you got captured and are waiting to be executed! Was this part of your plan?"
"Believe it or not, yes." Zuko approached the bars as well. "I actually didn't think I'd get to live this far, Mai. I thought the moment Azula got to me that would be it. Guess I should be thankful that she hasn't killed anyone… yet."
"That is about to change, Zuko." Mai said, her eyes revealing infinite sadness. "She has been named Fire Lord, and her first charge is to execute the soldiers responsible for losing the battle last night."
"And you think she'll use this chance to kill me as well." Zuko stated, no question in his words. "That puts a damperin my plans."
"You're still talking about plans?" Mai seemed furious. "We're talking about lives, Zuko! Not only of those poor soldiers, but yours as well! What happened to you? Why are you so cold?"
"The world was waiting for a child to save them." Zuko said. "I'm the child who's willing to do so."
"You are mad." Mai began to cry. "But that doesn't matter anymore. Stand back; I'm going to get you out of there."
"And get in trouble for freeing me once again?" Zuko asked. "I'm not going to let you do it. Not this time."
"I'm not asking for your permission, Zuko." Mai said through gritted teeth. "Now stand back or I won't answer for any more injuries on you."
"Mai." Zuko breathed deeply. "You can't do this. I have to face Azula in Agni Kai. If you let me out of here now, I won't be able to protect you."
"Don't underestimate me!" she cried out. "I can protect myself, thank you very much!"
"You're not a Fire Bender, Mai." Zuko softly said. "Besides, haven't you thought that if I wanted to get out of here I would have done so already?"
"What?"
"I'm not here because I want to be, but because I need to be." Zuko continued. "If you free me right now, everything I've done, everything I've gone through, will be for naught. I have to face Azula on my own terms, Mai, and defeat her in good faith."
"She wants to execute you!" Mai shouted again. "There's no fair fight when it concerns Azula! There's no honor in her! If you walk out of here with her it will be to be executed, not to fight in a pointless duel! Why can't you see that?"
"Because I have to buy time!" Zuko lost his patience. "Because I can't win a fight on my own, Mai, and I need to wait for as long as possible. I now know I can't beat Azula, not to mention my father, but I can get those people outside our city walls the precious time they need to get here. Then maybe, just maybe, someone will finally put an end to this war."
"So you're just going to throw your life away?" Mai asked, the tears falling freely down her face. "Don't you care about yourself? Don't you care about me?"
"Of course I care about you." Zuko softly said. "I should have told you about this way before, but I was ashamed of myself. Ashamed of everything I was and of everything I'd done."
"Do you love me?" Mai asked.
"I don't know if I'm capable of loving, Mai." Zuko said. "Do you love me?"
"I… I don't know what love is, Zuko." Mai sighed. "I hoped I could have learned it with you."
"I know I care about you, Mai, and I don't want to see you get hurt." Zuko said. "That's why I need you to leave the capital, right now. Take your mother and your brother and leave as fast as you can."
"I can't leave you here." Mai shook her head.
"You don't have a choice." Zuko said. "If we're caught, your head will roll next to mine, and I don't want that to happen. Please listen to me, Mai, leave now. I won't be able to do what I have to do if I know you're in the city."
"I'm afraid this will be the last time I'll see you." Mai sniffed.
"Let's hope it is not, shall we?" Zuko smiled. "I… there are no words to tell you how much you mean to me, Mai, and I will never be able to repay you for everything you've done for me."
"You can stay alive, Prince Zuko." Mai wiped away her tears. "So you can become the next Fire Lord and bring peace to the world."
"That's a pleasant idea." Zuko nodded. "I'll try. Now go."
"Before I leave, I have something for you." Mai searched through her clothes. "A medic gave me these herbs."
Zuko stared at the leaves in Mai's hands, very similar to those he had eaten days before.
"What are they for?" he asked.
"The doctor said they would help you with the pain." Mai replied. "And keep your mind clear, for a while."
"Thank you, Mai." Zuko held out his hands and Mai placed the leaves on them. She held on to him for a moment and looked into his eyes.
"Promise me, Prince Zuko, that we will meet again." she said.
"Mai, I…"
"Promise me!" Mai insisted.
"I promise you." Zuko smiled. "We will meet again, Mai."
She nodded and let go of his hands. She quickly rushed and silently left the dungeons.
Zuko stared at the leaves in his hands for a long time. Maybe it was the last push he needed; the final boost in order for him to reach his goal. He put one of the smaller leaves in his mouth and slowly chewed it, waiting for the unknown flavor to hit his tongue and throat. Moments went by and the taste was not as bad as he thought, so he kept chewing until he felt his gums go numb.
Putting away the leaves –knowing he wouldn't be searched again – he sat down on the cold floor again. The pain in his body diminished, causing him to smile and finally be able to concentrate on what he was going to do.
"What are you smiling about?"
This time, the voice did not catch him unaware, since he had been waiting for her to show up any moment.
"Have you come for my head, Sister?" Zuko asked, not standing up. "Or should I call you Fire Lord Azula?"
"News travel fast, it seems." Azula grinned. "It's time, Zuzu, you still have one duty to perform as Prince of the Fire Nation."
"Very well." Zuko stood up. "Hail the Fire Nation."
End of Chapter
