Chapter 33: the one ring
Kakyoin turned to the council of lions. "Well? What do I get, huh? You make me deal with L, you owe me something good. Hand it over."
"PATIENCE. WE HAVE A GIFT FOR YOU. NAY, NOT JUST A GIFT. THE GIFT. THE ONE GIFT. YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN BEAR THIS BURDEN." Aslan boomed. Then he stuck out his paw, and something small and gold caught the light. It gleamed. Suddenly, the room seemed quieter. A cold breeze seemed to gently blow over the Gaangs faces. No one spoke of it, but at the back of their minds, a voice whispered to the Gaang in a tongue they did not know. It was an old tongue. A speech so old that the record of all the ancient evils in this world is written in it and were written by those who spoke it. Kakyoin was awestruck. He wanted it. More than he had ever wanted anything in his life. It would help him. It would complete him. For he knew what it was. Yes, he did. He knew that this was a special present. A present passed from hand to hand through war and bloodshed until it finally came to him. He smiled.
"BEWARE, YOUNG ONE. YOUR FATE HAS WAS SEALED THE MOMENT YOU LAID EYES ON THE RING. BUT WE, THE COUNCIL, TRUST YOU AND NO ONE ELSE WITH THIS BURDEN." Aslan said as the ring floated towards Kakyoin. Then, the ring gently fell into Kakyoin's outstretched hand. A small ring shouldn't have made such a noise, but it did in the minds of all those who watched. But no one heard the ring louder than Zuko. In the days to come, Zuko would see the ring falling into Kakyoin's hand every time he dared to shut his eyes and let dreams take him. He would see the ring in every empty cabinet. At the bottom of every well. In every beam of light. In the eyes of everyone he had ever known. In the shadow of Zinko. At the end of every road. He would see the ring in everything he was and everything he was not. He saw the ring in everything he could have. He saw himself becoming more than the Zuko everyone disrespected. He saw himself proving them all wrong. In the coming days, Zuko would come to know love. A fierce and jealous love. The kind of love that drives madmen into doing the unthinkable.
"Thank you Lions. I shall keep the ring well. I will keep it with pride and with care and caution. I will guard this honor with my life." Kakyoin said with the ring in his hand. He looked down at it, then slowly closed his fist around it. He then looked up to see his friends staring at him with admiration. Then he saw Zuko's stare and clenched his fist a little tighter.
Over my dead body, fire freak.