a/n: Just a story idea that pestered me for many a fortnight and gave me no other choice but to write it down. Enjoy things from my point of view.
d: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. However, I do own the plot for this fic and an original character here.
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Fire Lord Ozai of the Fire Nation retreated to the main bedchambers, fingers massaging his forehead. The day had given him a very bad migraine, and his aggravation evident as his hand gripped the doorknob so hard it almost came off.
As soon as he closed the door, his eyes lit up in recognition, or in silent retribution to himself for his lack of thought. He should have anticipated what he would have to face in this room, after what just happened, after Agni Kai...
He turned around to face the Hidden Fire Lady, Zeta, his first wife, and the mother of his eldest and only son, Prince Zuko. Her beautiful oriental face had an expression of sheer anger, a terrible fire danced in her golden eyes, her full red lips was set in a grim line, her slender fists clenched at her sides, and she was posed as if to attack him any moment.
"What have you done?" She asked him, strands of her pony-tailed glossy, long black hair falling over her eyes, making her appear more intimidating than ever before. Of course, the flame that sparked in each of her hands also helped.
He waved her off, despite his nervousness. "I have no time for this. I just want to sleep." He began to go to the bed when she blocked his way.
"Like Hell you want to sleep! What just happened in there! What did you just do to my Zuko!" She screamed, unable to hold it in any longer.
He looked straight into her eyes, matching her dark glare with one of his own.
"What I just did in there is none of your business, Zeta." He said with as much venom as he could muster.
"It is but none of my business, Ozai! Zuko is my son, our son, for heaven's sake!"
He shook his head, losing eye contact with her. "That dishonorable coward is no son of mine."
"That's not an excuse, you bastard! My Zuko is only fourteen! He's too young… too young…" For a second her voice shook with the semblance of tears, then returned to its hardened state. "How dare you banish him!"
He grabbed her wrists, expecting a whimper. She gave him nothing but her unmoving stare. For how long he merely stood there, fixated by the fury he saw in her eyes, but not wholly concealing the concern and fear she had for her son. Her son, his son…
"My punishment fits the crime. He did a very disrespectful deed…"
"Out of concern for his people! You heard his words, 'Please, Father! I've only ever had the Fire Nation's best interest at heart! I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!'"
"No apology will teach him that lesson. He needs to learn respect, Zeta. I supposed you can understand that, and suffering will be…"
"His teacher! I heard you, you know! I'm not as deaf and blind as you assume! I saw the whole thing… and, oh gods, that burn will certainly leave a horrid scar… you're a monster, Ozai! A monster!" As she shouted at him, he felt nothing but rage at her. In her defiance, she looked too much like Zuko, looked too much of a reminder of the son he never had…
"You are foolish, woman." He spat, turning away from her in disgust. To think that what had been such a proud, sophisticated lady lost her composure like that…
"My son, my son, my only son… Zuko…" This time, she couldn't hide her despair any longer as a single, crystalline tear fell from her golden eyes as she dropped to her knees. He watched her at the corner of his eye.
"What is foolish is that mission you sent him on," she sobbed, hiding her face in her hands.
"He will die, you know. Die… and to think you managed to get his hopes up… my poor Zuko…"
He couldn't help but lash out on her at that. "Will you cease your whining! I have faith in my son!" He blurted out. She paused.
"Do you think I am that unwise to send the only heir to the throne on exile, without any hope to regain his place in the kingdom? Do you?" He yelled. Her hands dropped from her face and unto her lap.
"I have heard rumors of the Avatar's return. One simply cannot stay lost for one hundred years. Can't you see things in my point of view, for once, Zeta? If Zuko finds him, not only will the Fire Nation have captured the Avatar, but he will also have proved his worth as the next Fire Lord! Have I or have I not made myself clear?" He started to lie down on the bed, leaving her on her knees on the cold floor.
"B-but, what if…?" Doubt clouded her mind as she bit her lip.
"Good night, Zeta."
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In another part of the palace fortress, golden eyes saw its owner reflected in the fogged-up mirror. He very well knew that his appearance would change when the night ends at dawn, only hours from now. He cursed himself for the bandage that covered the most of the left part of his face. The burn underneath it still caused him to cry out when it still stung so bad, but he hated himself more for showing shameful weakness. He lost his honor, his throne, and his country, in that one instant of mistake and hesitation, and the burn was the painful reminder of that. And soon, that burn would leave a scar that will never leave him, and tomorrow, his head would be shaved, save for his long, brown ponytail, as the timeless sign of banishment.
At that moment of realization, his once-kind golden eyes hardened and turned cold, a livid, determined fire burning in them, for its young owner who might never smile again.
"I must capture the Avatar."
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Zeta finally found strength to climb unto the bed, though she found it revolting to share the same bed as that monster. Her mind reeled in frustration and dread, but as her golden eyes closed in sleep, she whispered a few words that she hoped would be enough for her son.
"I believe in you, my little Zuko…"
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d: There. My take on that little arc of the series. I didn't actually watch that episode where Zuko's past was revealed, and just based this off some forums and fics I read. So if I made any mistakes with the storyline, please tell me and I'll happily repost it. And please, don't bombard me with complaints on Ozai's sudden change (?) of character. My fic, my world, my rules. By the way, tell me what you think of Zeta as the Fire Lady, Ozai's wife and Zuko's mother. I rather liked her. So, to tell me all these things, you must leave a
REVIEW! For the love of Zuko!