Chapter Three:
Nothing Left to Say
Hours had passed before I heard the small sound of a knock on my door-I knew it was Uncle. I thought that maybe if I just didn't answer, Uncle would just leave. Moments passed-I thought maybe he had left. I was wrong.
"Zuko?" he said, knocking again, "can I come in?"
"Go away, I'm fine," I replied in hopes that he would leave. My door opened anyway, despite my order.
"Zuko, the men told me what happened. I-"
"Good, because I don't want to talk about it!" I yelled turning away from him and squeezing my pillow closer to my head.
"I want to hear you side, Zuko. I don't care about what the men said. I want to hear what you have to say," Uncle answered, calmly. No matter how much I yelled, some how he never lost his temper.
Eventually, I explained what had happened over some "calming" Jasmine tea or Ginseng tea or whatever kind of tea it was.
"I don't know why I did it Uncle-I just-I just…I don't know…I just lost my temper…and I'm sorry, Uncle…I'm sorry…" I explained.
"It's alright, Zuko. He shouldn't have said that about you. Especially with your temper already up like it was. It will be alright," Uncle comforted. He then told me to get some sleep.
The next morning before dawn, I went up to the bow of the ship and watched the hazy light appear along the horizon. The light grew brighter throughout the moments until the sun was vaguely visible along the sea. It was a beautiful morning.
I went all throughout the ship. I walked along the hallways absentmindedly until I reached the prison hold. As I walked, I began to hear something stir.
"What are you doing up this early?" I asked the prisoner.
"Why are you? Besides, how do you expect me to get any sleep in this rat-hole? Why did you capture me-why am I here?" she asked.
"Hey, I'm not the one who makes good bait for the Avatar. Not to mention tried to kill the Prince of the Fire Nation," I sneered.
"Yeah, the Banished Price," she smirked in reply.
I felt my temper rise, but remember what happened the previous night and managed to calm myself.
In my walking, I had been by the kitchen and grabbed myself some breakfast, only to decide I wasn't hungry.
"Here," I said handing her some breakfast.
"I actually get decent food? The other fire nation prisons hardly give you anything that can be called edible," she said accepting the bowl of food. "Why are you being nice to me?" she asked.
"Why, am I supposed to be mean?" I asked.
"No, it's just…every other firebender is ruthless heartless and just plain mean-every one's the same," she replied.
"Not all firebenders are the same, learn that," I said. I put my hand in my pocket as she continued to eat. I felt the necklace in my pocket. I debate for a minute whether or not to give it to her. I pulled it out in a closed hand. I reached through the bars of the door. "Here," I said.
When I dropped it in her hand, she looked at me, confused.
"Why are you…?" she asked, unsurely.
"Why should I keep it? I have no use for it," I answered plainly, "it's a nice necklace. Where did you get it?"
"My mother gave it to me," she explained dimly, "before she…before she died."
"What happened?" I asked, then added, "How she died, I mean."
"When I was about nine or ten, the fire nation raided our village, killing any and every waterbender that lived there. Our oldest brother, Tristen was trying to protect our mother, Sokka, my other brother, and me from the fire nation soldiers. He knew they'd kill us. He and our father told us to run. When we did some of the soldiers tried to stop us. One came towards us with a spear. Tristen blocked it and got stabbed instead of me.
"Then dad told Mom and me to run. We listened, but Sokka stayed behind to help Dad. Some of the soldiers chased us. They grabbed me and then Mom. They put a knife to her throat. I tried to stop them but the soldiers stopped me before I could… That's when I got this-" she pulled up her sleeve to reveal a scar across her right forearm that looked like a handprint. "Then, the soldier killed Mom. They left her there, bleeding, and me crying. Sokka and our dad came a while later, saying that all of the waterbenders had been killed-save me because they thought that I wasn't a bender. Mom had just started teaching me. A few weeks later, Tristen died as well. And then Dad had to leave for the war. We haven't heard from him since."
There was a long silence between us before she began talking again.
"I must be nice, being the Fire Lord's son…never having to take orders from anyone, having everyone under your command," she said.
"You have no idea," I sighed.
Why is it that you love seeing everyone cower before you, terrorized by you?" she asked.
"I don't know. Many people in the Nation love the scent of fear-including my father. But I can't understand why. Personally, I think my father is a fool for even keeping this war in play," I thought aloud.
"If you don't like making people cower before you, then why do you?" she asked. She would never understand what it was like.
"Sometimes you have to do things you don't want to," I said. Nearly an hour had passed. I left it at that in silence. Nothing was left to say.