DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NICKELODEON'S AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER OR ITS CHARACTERS. I just can't believe how hot Old Man Zuko is...
Zuko pushed the door to the bridge open with such force that it slammed against the inside wall, causing Iroh, Jee, and the other inhabitants of the room to jump.
"Out! Out! Now! Get out!" He yelled, and, clutching the scrolls to his chest, stood in the middle of the room and watched the men scatter as they made for the door.
"But – Y– Your Highness," the helmsman stammered, "the engines..."
"Idle the engines!" Zuko yelled.
"I – idle the engines?" He was shocked at such a request.
"Do it and get out! All of you! Stop the blasted ship and get out of my sight!" Zuko pointed emphatically at the door.
They began to scurry from the room, and Zuko shouted after them. "Go to your bunks! And stay there until I say differently!"
Lieutenant Jee stopped. "Your Highness? You want the men in their quarters?"
"Didn't I just say so?" Zuko roared, his face red.
"Yes, Highness. But – may I ask why?"
"Would they rather stand at attention on the deck?!" Zuko stamped his foot. Insubordination!
Jee blanched at the thought of the men, in their heavy uniforms, standing under the hot sun. "No, Highness. I will – send them to their bunks."
"See that you do! No one is to be on any deck until I say! Do you understand me?"
"Yes, Highness."
Iroh had, before Zuko's entrance, been standing at one of the windows gazing out at the sea. When his nephew entered, he had jumped, but now, recovered from his surprise, had turned back to the view. "I assume you do not include me in that order?" He asked, his voice calm.
Zuko slammed the door with his foot. "No."
"And you sent the men away because you did not want them to hear." He did not turn to look at Zuko.
"Yes. I mean – no. I mean – yes, I sent them away so they could not hear."
Iroh turned to his nephew fully. "So, you spoke to her, then?"
Zuko looked away for a moment. "Yes."
"And?"
"And she – admitted it."
"She confessed?"
Zuko nodded.
His uncle sighed, but said nothing.
Zuko waited for his uncle to comment – to condemn Lan Chi as a viperous traitor – but, when the old man said nothing, he burst out, unable to contain his outrage any longer. "I can't believe her! How could she do this, Uncle?" Zuko blurted.
Iroh shook his head. "I – don't know."
Zuko shook his head. "I should have realized that she was like that – years ago."
Iroh looked at him sharply. "Why do you say that?"
"She's half Water Tribe, Uncle. Is it so surprising that she betrayed me – and the Fire Nation?"
"Zuko, she has never, to my knowledge, met anyone of the Water Tribe other than her own mother. She was born in the Fire Nation. She was raised in the Fire Nation. She is as much Fire Nation as you or I."
"What?! No! She is not! She is not Fire Nation, and she is nothing like me! I love our country! She – is nothing but – but –" he fumbled for words, "a – a liar and – and a – thief!" He shook his head vehemently. "We would never do what she has done!" He indicated the scrolls in his arms. "Become a traitor to our country."
"What is all that?" Iroh looked at his nephew's burden.
Zuko scowled. "The stolen Fire Nation intelligence." He bent down and dropped them onto his uncle's pai sho table.
Iroh appeared disappointed. "I see. You have evidence. She was indeed telling you the truth, then, about stealing secrets."
"For once!" He began pacing the floor. "Spirits, Uncle! What am I to believe? She lied to me – has been lying to me all along. What else has she lied about? About loving me? Was it all done to prevent me from discovering the truth? I – " he stopped and looked at Iroh, his face bleak. "I feel as if I do not know her at all. First, she lied about her bending abilities, and now – this!"
"What did you say to her once she had admitted her actions?"
At this question, Zuko reddened. "I told her that I never wanted to see her again – that I would never – could never – marry her now. That she should marry Da Baichi if he still wanted her."
Iroh was silent, and Zuko sensed a silent rebuke. "What would you have had me say?" He snapped.
"Nothing, Zuko. I – understand. Of course. In fact, I am rather surprised that you did not threaten..." Iroh trailed off, and shook his head sadly.
"Threaten what? To turn her over to those men? To allow her to face justice? I should have!" He said, self-righteously.
"You know what would happen to her."
He gritted his teeth. "The Fire Nation would put her to death! I know! I know, Uncle! Do you think that I do not? Spirits! That was what kept me quiet while they were here, asking questions! The thought!" He shook his head. "I could not bear it. She has done treacherous things, but I could not – I simply could not consider it – or imagine it – or want it..."
"You still love her."
"Of course I love her!" Zuko's hands, fisted at his side, flamed for a moment. He turned away, and kicked the pai sho table viciously, sending the scrolls tumbling to the floor. "Spirits help me! I've always loved her! And this..." his voice was quiet now, "and this is what I get – what I deserve – for falling in love with someone half Water Tribe. I should have known. My father tried to warn me." He shook his head in regret. "She finally revealed her true colors."
He looked at Iroh bleakly. "How could she do this? How could she do this to me?"
Iroh remained quiet, and turned away again to look out the window.
"Say something, Uncle!" Zuko could not bear Iroh's continued silence.
Iroh whirled to look at him, his own face now suffused. "What do you want me to say, Zuko?! That I condemn what she has done?! I do! Believe me, I do! But I also understand it!"
Zuko was aghast. "You understand? How can you understand? You are a prince of the Fire Nation! How can you understand treason?"
Iroh exploded. "I understand because I lost everything in this war, Zuko! Everything!"
"So have I!" Zuko shouted, pounding his chest. "My mother! My family! My home! And – and now I've lost Lan Chi, too! But I would not turn spy for the Earth Kingdom!"
They stared at one another for a long while – both silent, lost in their own misery.
Iroh finally spoke. "Did she say why she did it?"
Zuko scowled again. "It is..." He shook his head and looked away. "Too ridiculous to even say aloud."
Iroh nodded, content to wait to discover the truth. "And what shall you do now?"
Zuko gathered up the scrolls. "I am going to destroy these. All of them, so that no one will ever learn of her treachery."
"Yes. Perhaps that is best."
"And then I am going to order the helmsman to make haste for Tao Xing. The sooner I get Lan Chi off my ship, the better."
Iroh knocked on Lan Chi's door.
"Go away!" He heard her voice, muffled through the panels.
"It's Uncle Iroh."
"Go away, Uncle Iroh!"
"I'd like to talk to you."
"No! Please go away!"
"I suppose that I can talk to you through the door, if you'd like."
It opened within seconds, and Lan Chi stood in the doorway, her face hostile, her hair a messy halo around her head. "What are you doing here?" She demanded.
"Can I not visit my niece?"
She stepped back to allow him entry, and closed the door. "Don't you mean your treacherous niece?"
"Those are not my words."
"No. They're mine. Are you sure you should be here?" She crossed her arms and leaned against the door.
"Why shouldn't I?" He serenely tucked his hands inside his sleeves and looked at her expectantly.
"Didn't Zuko tell you what I've done?"
"Yes."
"Don't you think that he might object to you fraternizing with a traitor?" Her voice was bitter.
"He said nothing about me seeing you."
"Visiting me in my cell?" She crossed to her bed and plopped down.
His brows raised. "Do you think that you're a prisoner?"
She was silent.
"You're not." He continued.
"I'm surprised. I would have thought that Zuko would make certain that I never showed my face above deck again."
"He is very upset."
"Yes. He said. And he has a right to be. I'm a traitor."
Iroh was quiet again.
She looked at him, irate. "Aren't you going to say something, Uncle? Anything?"
"What should I say?"
"Say that you are disappointed in me. Say that you hate me. Say that you never want anything to do with me again. Say that I am a disgrace to you, to my father's memory, and to my entire nation."
"Do you want me to say that?"
She scowled. "Shouldn't you, though? It's true. I betrayed the Fire Nation. I betrayed you – I betrayed your trust. I betrayed Zuko."
"But with reason, I assume."
"Not reason enough, according to Zuko. Why aren't you mad at me?" She looked at him consideringly.
"Who says that I am not?" His voice was pleasant.
She gave a grim smile. "Because, when you are mad at me, I know that you are mad at me."
"Hmm. Well, perhaps I should like to hear your reasons myself. Perhaps I should like to come to my own conclusion, and not rely on Zuko's hot head."
She looked at him with surprise. "Didn't he tell you?"
"No."
They stared at one another until Iroh spoke. "Well?"
"Well, what? You want to know what prompted me to betray my country and my family?"
"The question had occurred to me."
She shrugged. "It doesn't matter now. It's all for naught."
"So it will not matter if you tell me, then." He said gently.
She sighed. "Fine. I suppose I should recount the entire, sorry tale. I had an agreement with an Earth Kingdom General – to exchange information for – something else."
"Indeed? What could be so important to you that you would sell information to the enemy? Not money, surely? If you have need of that, I have plenty."
She looked at him steadily. "No. Not money. You. And Zuko."
His brows shot up. "Zuko and I?"
She threw herself back against the mattress, and covered her eyes. "Yes."
He sat down next to her. "Perhaps you'd better tell me everything, then."
A half hour later, after she had laid out the entire, sorry tale before her uncle, she had allowed the tears that had been threatening to finally gather. "...And now," she shrugged disconsolately. "Zuko was angrier than I've ever seen him. With good reason." She looked at him from the corner of her eyes. "Why aren't you angrier?"
He was quiet for a long time. "Lan Chi, you know the story of Lu Ten's death."
She looked at him sharply, and swiped away the tears. "Of course."
"Well, then you know what I did after. I – abandoned my station – my men – my country." He looked off into the distance, seeing something that had happened long, long ago. "I did something that I never thought possible – that I had never even considered that I had the capacity to do." He glanced at her. "I left thousands of men – my men – without a leader – without a rudder, and in a storm. I did what no Fire Nation general has ever done. I deserted my army, and left it at the mercy of another. I dishonored my men. I dishonored my father. I dishonored the memory of my ancestors. I dishonored my entire nation."
"But you were mad with grief!" She protested, her tears forgotten.
"Yes. Yes, I was. But it was no excuse – not really. Untold numbers of parents had lost sons in the war. What made my actions permissible?" He answered for her. "Nothing. Nothing except that I could simply not go on. I could not continue to send my men – children of the Fire Nation – into battle any longer. I did not have the heart. My heart was – broken. I was broken." He looked at her sagely. "So, you see, I know what it is like to sacrifice everything for family – for those you love." He was silent a long time, allowing his words to sink in.
"Besides," he smiled, "no secrets fell into enemy hands because of what you did – no harm was done."
She was astonished. She had not expected Iroh – great hero of the Fire Nation and Dragon of the West – to understand her motivations. "S – so, you're not mad at me?"
"No. I wish that you had spoken to me about it, of course –"
"Spoken to you?! How should I have approached the subject, Uncle?!"
He chuckled. "I see your point. But I could have saved you the trouble of skulking around all of the Fire Nation outposts, and putting yourself in danger. And us, too, by the way. We could have all been arrested! And how would that have looked for the future Fire Lord and Queen?"
She gave a short bark of laughter. "Zuko will never marry me now!"
"You must give him time."
"Yes. I shall give him until the next millennium. He should have cooled off by then."
He laughed. "Hopefully not as long as that. But you should know that, even had you succeeded, Zuko would never have accepted any sort of mercy for his role in the war – nor I." She started to speak, but he shook his head. "No, no. I have made my bed, so to speak, in this war, and I shall face the consequences, should it ever come to that. I shall not shirk my duty a second time. And, as for Zuko – he would sooner die, I'm certain, than renounce his father – or accept succor from the enemy. He is obstinate, if nothing else."
"Yes, he is – which is why he'll never forgive me. Ever."
"I would not be so sure of that."
She looked at him wearily. "If you say that, then you do not know Zuko as well as I thought you did."
Iroh considered this. "I know that he is stubborn. You know that he is stubborn. It will take time, but he'll forgive you." Iroh spoke with a confidence he was not sure that he felt.
Time that I don't have, Lan Chi thought.
She was quiet. "No. He won't. Not only did I betray the Fire Nation, Uncle, I lied to him. He doesn't trust me – not anymore. I might as well just marry Da Baichi and consign myself to that fate."
"So, you're giving up? Just like that?" He threw his hands into the air. "This is idiocy. Are you going to roll over and die? Have you lived through everything that has plagued you only to waste away from a broken heart?"
She looked at him, but said nothing.
His face was stern. "Recall, please, that you were banished to the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, and you did not die. I abandoned you – no, don't interrupt – and you were forced to leave Royal Caldera City, and you did not allow it to defeat you. You were constrained to leave Ming and Fai, and you did not die. But you will now let a thing as paltry as Zuko's current displeasure defeat you?"
She considered this, but shook her head. "This is different – somehow. I always thought, even at those times, that Zuko loved me, and, even though we were apart, it sustained me. But now that he hates me..."
"Nonsense!" Iroh scoffed. "Zuko is a foolish, recalcitrant pup, and he does not know what he wants – or hates!"
Lan looked at Iroh for a long time, and a small smile lifted one corner of her mouth. "You looked and sounded just like Azulon for a moment, Uncle."
Iroh's face cleared. "Did I?" He thought on his words. "Yes, I suppose that I did. Oh, dear. I am truly old now, aren't I?"
She shook her head, although there was affection on her face. "You are trying to distract me from my misery, Uncle, and paint a rosier picture of my life than exists, but I don't think it's working. I do thank you for the effort, though."
He smiled. "Just wait, little duck. Zuko will come to his senses."
She shook her head. "I don't think so, Uncle. Not this time. He accepted that I am a waterbender, and that I kept it from him all of these years, but – this?" She shook her head again. "He won't forgive this."
Iroh was silent as she walked to the window to look out at the ocean, and she continued. "So I've lost the chance to spend my life with him, and I've lost my chance to save him." She turned to her uncle bleakly. "I've lost everything, it seems."
Iroh did not know what to say that might convince her – other than what he had already said. "Perhaps the Fire Nation will win the war." He tried, falsely bright.
"You've seen Ba Sing Se, Uncle. It is – massive. You know that it is. The fighters from that city alone would overrun the Fire Nation." She turned back to the sea again. "No. I've failed. Failed at saving you – at saving Zuko." A thought came to her, then. A thought about something that, although it would not save Zuko from the consequences of the war, would, perhaps, save him from wandering the world without a home.
She whirled to look at him. "Uncle, I have an idea."
He lifted a brow. "An idea to win Zuko back?"
She shook her head. "I – I don't want to talk about it now. But, when I've thought it through, I will probably need your help."
"You'll have it – of course."
I hope you keep that promise, Uncle. "Thank you."
He smiled. "And, now, perhaps. I should go gauge exactly how angry Zuko remains."
Zuko stood in the middle of the main deck, stripped to the waist in the hot sun, shooting fireballs wildly into the air, with no form or restraint. All restraint had deserted him. He was angry, and his anger had destroyed the control that he had cultivated so carefully for the past two and a half years. In fact, he had never been angrier in his entire life.
Never.
Ever.
When he thought of Lan Chi's treachery, he felt that his blood would boil with righteous rage. This lie – this transgression of hers – was far worse than anything that she had ever done. Worse than the concealment of her bending abilities.
He would never forgive her.
Never.
Ever.
She had used him, and betrayed him, and played him for a fool. She had lied to him for months about so much. She had probably lied about loving him, too.
That was the most unforgivable thing of all. That she had used his feelings for her against him – had manipulated him.
Everything was sullied. Every memory, every touch, every word. Everything.
The last weeks had been just the machinations of a traitor. Nothing had been real. Not her declarations of love, not the kisses that she had given, not the tender looks. They had all been lies.
All lies.
And so now he would flush his system of his love for her. He would turn it into hatred. He would harden his heart.
He would harden it so that he could watch her get off the ship in Tao Xing.
He would harden it so that he could leave her.
He would harden it so that he would not picture her in the arms of another.
He would harden it so that he would not imagine her cradling the child of another man in her arms.
"Arrrrrrggggggghhhh!" He threw a volley of fire balls and jets into the air until the flames whirled around him, filling all that he could see with blessed, numbing redness – redness that was not the color of her hair.
When the fire dissipated, his uncle was standing before him, hands in his sleeves, looking as if he were waiting as patiently as he might wait to cross a street. "An impressive display of power, Prince Zuko."
"Leave me alone." He turned away and continued to shoot out and away from the old man.
"I can, of course." Belying his words, he followed his nephew. "The ship is becalmed. Have you not released the crew from their enforced inactivity?"
"No. I don't want to see them." The flames died away, and he turned back to Iroh. "I don't want to see anyone." He said emphatically, hoping that his uncle would recognize the hint.
"And yet you see me." Iroh smiled.
"Don't smile!" Zuko shouted. "There is nothing to smile about!"
This made Iroh smile even wider. "Perhaps not, but I shall anyway."
Zuko stomped away to where he had thrown his shirt, and mopped his face with it. "Did you go see your beloved niece?" He sneered.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did." He stood next to Zuko, looking out at the sea.
"Was she crowing about her success in duping me?"
"What a question! Of course she was not. She is very upset." He gave Zuko a sidelong glance. "Upset and contrite."
Zuko gave a bark of derisive laughter. "She's contrite only because I caught her."
Iroh was silent, and Zuko continued. "She would have carried out the plan had I not discovered it."
"Well, we will never know that, will we?"
"No." Zuko mumbled, and, sliding on the shirt, made for the stairs.
"Where are you off to?" Iroh asked, hopeful that Zuko was going to see Lan.
"To order the men back to their stations. They are being derelict in their duties."
Iroh rolled his eyes. Zuko was going to be difficult about all of this. He could just feel it.
"Absolutely not!" Iroh roared at his niece, and surged to his feet, leaving most of his dinner untouched. "I will not!"
"Please, Uncle." Lan Chi stood before him calmly. "I am resolved."
That evening, Lan Chi had mustered all of the courage that was left in her, and had ventured out of her cabin to find Iroh.
She found him, of course, at dinner.
She had thought for many hours on her plan, and she had decided that it might work. She could not guarantee Zuko's freedom after the war, but she might be able to give him what he wanted most – to go back to the Fire Nation.
Iroh, however, was not convinced – of anything.
"You cannot! They will put you to death!"
She smiled beatifically. "I'm prepared for that." At his tortured expression, she sighed kindly. "Uncle, I have little hope of anything other than misery for the rest of my life. I either allow myself to be married to a stranger, which I absolutely refuse to do, or I run away and live like a fugitive for the rest of my life – which may not be very long, anyway. The life of someone on the run from the Fire Nation is short, I'm certain."
"So you've decided to throw yourself to the lion-wolves and sacrifice yourself in the hope – the very slim hope – that Ozai will forgive Zuko his transgression, forgive that Zuko has not found the Avatar –" He was cut off by Lan raising a finger.
"Zuko won't have the Avatar, but he will have the most wanted spy in the Fire Nation."
"And you think that will satisfy Ozai?" Iroh did not sound convinced, but Lan smiled.
"Uncle, your brother has been trying to permanently rid the world of me for years. This will give him an excuse to do so. He will probably be thrilled."
"It's a ridiculous, foolish thing to do! You cannot know that Ozai will react as you hope."
"It's true that I can't know for certain, but I am fairly certain that this will prove Zuko's loyalty to him. He knows that Zuko has always loved me. If Zuko turns me in, it would mean – to Ozai – that Zuko values his father more than he values me – which is patently true anyway, Uncle."
"I won't allow you to do this." Iroh's tone was mulish.
She raised her brows. "And I don't see how you'd stop me. I'll do it without your help, if need be."
Iroh opened his mouth, but shut it again abruptly, before, after a long silence, finally nodding slowly. "Very well, then. If you are so intent on martyring yourself, who am I to gainsay you?"
Her brows rose. "I – I..." She blinked, bewildered that he had given in so easily. "Good." She said, after a brief pause, and nodded. "So, you'll help?"
"Of course, my dear. After all, it may be the last thing that I do for you."
Zuko, eyes closed, breathed in deeply through his nose as he sat on the floor of his cabin, meditating in front of the shrine he kept to honor the spirits.
He was trying to do as Uncle Iroh had always told him: inhale deeply and evenly through his nose, and exhale slowly through his mouth.
That will settle your mind, Prince Zuko.
He could hear his uncle's voice in his head, and he scowled. His mind was anything but settled.
His mind was tortured, and had been from the moment that he had realized that Lan Chi was responsible for all of the thefts. He could still scarcely believe it – could scarcely believe that she had betrayed her own country – the country that her father had fought and died for. The country that Lu Ten had fought and died for.
Maybe that was why she did it – so no one else must mourn fathers and brothers and sons.
Iroh's unwelcome voice was in his head again, and he slapped his hand lightly against his skull, his eyes squeezed tight, and his face now scrunched in distaste.
"Stupid old man." He muttered, and shifted.
He could feel the flames on the altar flicker, and he opened his eyes. The breeze from the open window had changed directions, and he could see the sun move across the altar.
He frowned. The ship had changed direction.
He stood up abruptly, fuming. Who dared to change their course?
"Is everyone on this ship a traitor?"He muttered.
With his face red, he charged from his room and headed directly for the bridge. He slammed the door open, as he had earlier in the day, and stood in the doorway, his expression thunderous. "Why have you deviated from the course that I set? Who is responsible for this – this – mutiny?!"
Every face on the bridge turned to him, and then to the helmsman. The crew member in question dropped his hands from the wheel, and began wringing them anxiously. "F – forgive me, Y – Your Highness. G – General Iroh authorized it, begging your pardon."
Uncle! What mischief is he up to now?
Zuko continued scowling. "Return us to our previous course immediately!"
"Y – yes, Your Highness." The helmsman bobbed his head and bowed several times.
"Well, do it!" Zuko roared, and the entire crew jumped to do his bidding as he stormed out.
"Stupid old man!" Zuko muttered as he stomped towards his uncle's cabin. "Countermanding my orders! Who does he think he is? I'm in charge on this ship! Me! Not him!"
He kept up the tirade of epithets until he reached his uncle's room, although there was no one else to hear him. as he stood before the door, he rehearsed what he would say to the old man, and how Iroh would cower and apologize piteously for usurping Zuko's authority.
Having determined how he was going to begin the rebuke, Zuko pounded on the panels, and heard a weak greeting from within.
He waited, frowning, until the door creaked open.
His uncle stood before him, eyes red, and wisps escaping from his normally neat hair.
"Uncle, what are you about –"
His uncle interrupted him. "Oh, Zuko, you've come! Thank the spirits!"
He dragged Zuko into the room with surprising force, and slammed the door. "You're the only one who can help!"
Zuko ignored his uncle's words, and, instead, drew himself up regally, and launched into the speech he had prepared. "Uncle, how dare you change the course of this vessel without permission? I am the lawful captain of this vessel, and, as such –"
He was interrupted again by his uncle grabbing the sleeve of his uniform with a spasmodic grip. "Did you change the course, Zuko?"
The prince blinked. "Well, yes, but don't you try to talk me into changing it back!"
Iroh shook his head vehemently, his fingers now digging into Zuko's arm. "No! No! I would never! No, Zuko! In fact, I am grateful – beyond grateful – that you returned us to the previous course. Perhaps – perhaps you can even talk some sense into her!"
Zuko yanked his arm from his uncle's grasp and attempted to smooth his sleeve. "Uncle, you're speaking nonsense! Now compose yourself and tell me what you mean."
Iroh looked at him for a long moment, and, then, with a shake of his head, walked away to gaze out of the small window in his cabin. "No. Perhaps not. You might even support the idea. Oh! But what a horrible idea!"
Zuko was becoming impatient. "Uncle, turn around right now, and tell me what you mean. What has you in such a state?"
Iroh turned to Zuko, and Zuko noticed, for the first time, how very red his uncle's eyes were.
"It's Lan Chi!" Iroh confessed.
Of course. "What has she done this time?"
"It's not what she has done, Zuko, but what she is intending to do!"
Zuko rolled his eyes. "I could not care less what she is intending to do!" He said with outrage – how could his uncle think that he would care about anything that his perfidious cousin did?
"Oh, Zuko, if only you did care! You might make a difference."
"Fine, then. What is she intending to do?"
Iroh shook his head again, and began pacing. "It was her idea to turn the ship. She came to me – begged me, and what could I do? I have ever been veritable putty in her hands!"
Zuko frowned. Since when was Uncle putty in anyone's hands? "It was Lan Chi's idea to supplant my command?"
"What?" Iroh stopped to look at him distractedly, shook his head, and resumed pacing. "She had no desire to thwart you, Zuko. She wanted only to..." He trailed off, his back to Zuko, and the prince thought he heard a sob.
Zuko felt his ears flush – but whether in anger or frustration or fear he did not know. "Get on with it! What does Lan intend to do?"
Iroh turned, surged forward, and grabbed the front of Zuko's uniform. "She intends to turn herself in to the Fire Nation at the nearest port!" He shook Zuko lightly. "And give you the credit for her capture!"
Again, Zuko had to loosen his uncle from his clothing, and stepped back, glaring. "What rubbish are you speaking?"
Iroh shook his head. "It's not rubbish! Since you took away her only means of saving you, she thinks to turn herself in and give you the credit!"
Zuko's heart pounded painfully. "Wh – why would she do that?" He asked, his voice now only a hoarse whisper, his pupils dilated in fear.
"She thinks that your father might restore you to the line of succession if you prove your loyalty – if you expose and bring in a notorious spy such as she! She believes it might prompt him to forget about the Avatar foolishness!"
Zuko heard a buzzing in his ears that seemed to come from far away. "B – but my father would put her to – to death!"
Iroh threw his hands up in frustration. "I know! I counseled her not to do it! I – I pleaded with her!" He wondered if he was going too far, but, caught up in his own performance, he continued. "But she refused!"
Zuko put his hands on the top of his head in frustration. "So you just turned the ship to the nearest port?" He asked, his voice shrill.
"She insisted!"
Zuko dropped his hands and glared at his uncle. "Insisted? And you just – ? Arrrggghh! Uncle!"
"She says that she would rather die than marry anyone but you, and that you should at least benefit from her death!"
"Benefit from her death?! How – and – and why could she think that?!" His mind was whirling with horrible images of possible ends to her idea – none of which were pleasant.
He shook his head and turned away, putting a hand to his temple. How could she be so – blind? So – so – obtuse? Did she really think that he would want to be returned to Royal Caldera City because she had sacrificed herself? Did she think that he could go on, knowing that she was gone – and because of him?
"But you've changed our course back, have you not, Prince Zuko?" Iroh sounded anxious, and Zuko spun to look at the old man.
"Yes! But what's to stop her from trying to turn herself in once we reach land?"
Iroh opened his mouth to speak, and then shut it again abruptly. "There is nothing to stop her, I suppose."
Zuko shook his head impatiently, his face red. "She cannot do this. She cannot!" He pointed at his uncle. "You are not to follow her directions ever again! Do you understand? I – I will try to straighten this out with her – convince her – if I can – to give up this foolishness, but you must never abet such an idiocy ever again! Do you understand?" The last words were enunciated slowly, as if Zuko were speaking to a simpleton.
Iroh bobbed his head up and down, trying to look penitent, and he watched with sly eyes as his nephew charged from the room, slamming the door behind him.
Iroh waited several seconds before allowing the chagrined look to melt away, and straightened his back, smoothed his hair, and chuckled. Had his nephew simply stopped to think clearly, he would have realized that all he needed to do to thwart Lan Chi was refuse to take credit for her capture. After all, Lan Chi would not throw her life away for nothing.
Of course, had Lan Chi been thinking clearly, she would never have proposed such a ludicrous idea. The thought that Iroh would allow his niece to throw herself into the hands of the Fire Lord was almost – laughable.
No, neither had thought keenly on their plans, for which Iroh was grateful. And, now, he had set the gears in motion for their reconciliation. He hoped that his subterfuge would bear fruit, although he was fairly certain that it would.
He would just have to wait for the results, but, until then, he would have some tea.
Author's Notes: Well, this chapter was a BEAR to write! I wrestled with it for over a month and a half, between "real life" things that I had to do. I rewrote this chapter a bunch of times, which I don't usually do - I usually commit to what's on the page the second I write it, but, this time, I just had A LOT of trouble getting from point "a" (Zuko being mad at Lan) to point "b" (Zuko being scared at the possibility of Lan being executed for her crimes). However, I hope I FINALLY did get there in the right way.
I thought I'd make Iroh try to manipulate them both, since he is obviously so good at it - and, I have to admit, distraught Iroh was FUN to write.
For those of you who have seen the NEW "Legend of Korra" episodes, you know that SOMEONE makes a return to the series...although that person was not IN the show enough, as far as I was concerned.
Anyway, thanks to sunflower13 and bowow0708 for betareading, as always, and thanks to everyone who has been reviewing this fic. I am now on the second page of most reviewed Zuko fics, so YEAH!
Thank you.
: )
