(Notice, I do not own the original Avatar: The Last Airbender characters or storyline. They are owned by Nickelodeon. This story and all character's else-wise ARE owned by me.)
Act III: Emotionless
Zuko awoke the next morning to the shouts of battle cries and the familiar 'clang' of swords. Very confused and baffled by his new surroundings, the young man sprang onto his feet. In the process of doing so, he found himself to be fighting off the urge to lay down, due to a headache that stretched across the back of his head into his neck, most likely the results of sleeping on a hard wood floor.
Carefully, the young teen moved towards his uncle's slumbering form, curled up just inches away from the sliding doors that gave exit to their temporary cell. "Uncle," Zuko whispered, "wake up." Iroh responded by gradually stretching out his limbs and letting out a loud, rough yawn.
"Zuko, it is not like you to be up so early", stated the still sleepy-eyed man. The younger ignored this observation and reached over the larger man's form. He slid the doors open enough so that he could let in the growing sunlight and the looked back at his uncle, who had once more closed his eyes to sleep.
As the young man nudged his uncle awake once more, he asked, "Can you here that? Someone is fighting outside!" Iroh merely scratched his head and shrugged his shoulder's in response. Soon after he slid himself up into a sitting position and took his turn at gazing out into the dawning world.
"There is no army that would risk climbing a foreign landscape such as this. Therefore", the man yawned before continuing, "it must be someone training in the yards out front. No worries."
Zuko studied his uncle's face, hoping to find some sort of clue to decode the older man's recent cryptic behavior and speech. Giving up momentarily in a huff, Zuko retorted, "What do you mean, 'No army would risk climbing this landscape'! How do you even know where we are ? Where exactly are we then, Uncle Iroh!"
Iroh, as usual, disregarded his nephew's temper and explained, "This land has no decided name, because it is not owned nor recognized by any nation surrounding us. The compound is 'owned' by Ora, but in all truth, she is merely a leader of the area, self-appointed to it's upkeep and—"
Zuko interrupted his uncle, clearly unimpressed by the older man's knowledge of the surrounding landscape. "How can this not be owned by the Earth Kingdom? It rest in the middle of it!"
Iroh coughed, and began his explanation again. "Your great-grandfather, Lord Sozin, was told of this land when he first came into rule. It is said that if a man were to stay on this land even for a night, he would either carry a divine bless or curse with him when he reached the other side. The lord walked the entire distance, carrying with him only a small amount of water. When he reached the other side, he tripped, but as he fell, as it is told, he was given a vision of himself obtaining the power of the sun."
Zuko, now considerably calmer, asked, "And that vision came true, didn't it, Uncle?" Iroh nodded and continued on with the story.
"Yes, in a sense, it did. So, with the power given to him by the comet, my grandfather began the war, but did not forget the mountain. Actually, it was one of the first places that he tried to obtain from the Earth Kingdom, only to find that the king could not give it to him, because it was a sacred land, therefore it was against the laws of the Earth nation to give it as a gift.
Sozin did not enjoy this, as he demanded ultimate perfection in all plans. So he tried, many times, to claim the land for himself, declaring that since the Earth Nation could not give it, it was not their's in the first place. Many tribes, including those of the Water and the dwindling Air nations, came and fought in many numbers against the army assembled by Sozin to capture this sacred mountain. Finally, in the third week of battle, the very angry and tired Sozin dismissed the plan, and made a new law for the Fire Nation, that none under his rule could ever step foot there.
The Earth Kingdom, in gratitude to their savior nations, declared that even if they could not 'give' the sacred mountain once known as Uma away, they could release their ties on it and allow it to be a shared and un-claimed sanctuary. And that was how it remained, until Ozai came into power."
Zuko waited for his uncle to continue, but as the older man began to, a woman's scream flooded the air. Both men jumped to their feet and rushed out into the compounds yard, only to be made into gaping fools as a young girl dashed by, a sword raised to her right side. Observing the woman's war path, they also made not that not too far away stood the oldest woman, dressed in white pants and shirt, holding a similar sword drawn to her left.
In moments, much before either man could collect his thoughts on the situation, the girl and woman had collided their weapons above their heads. Zuko could only guess at their stances that despite the younger woman's momentum, the old woman had not budged more than a few inches from her previous stance. He could also observe that the woman was having less trouble-most obvious by her teasing grin-as she held the younger girl back, who the young teen could tell was breathing rather heavily.
"Mother", cried the young woman, breathing deeply before continuing. "At least you could act like I was putting up some sort of fight!" The mother laughed at this and switched her stance. The exiled prince laughed at this as well, concluding that while the woman may have gestured that she was putting herself at a handicap, she had already won this fight. The girl knew this as well, because just as Zuko decided this, the young woman stepped back from her mother and bowed. Then, in a flash akin to the same speed as earlier, the girl threw out her sword from her right, sending it straight towards the rack several feet away. What surprised Zuko the most, however, was the fact that the weapon landed perfectly in the rack, between a war hammer and a staff.
"Enough for today, Yumi?", questioned the mother as she studied her blade. "You didn't put up much of a fight." The girl snorted in response.
Before either could argue further, however, the third woman from last night came into Zuko's view and addressed them briefly. "Breakfast has been set. Will one of you please fetch the guests and the other get Xiong?", she asked in a monotone voice. Both women bowed in compliance to this request and separated into their different paths.
The older woman tugged at her modest bun on top of her head as she walked over to the section where both Iroh and Zuko were staying, not paying much attention to the younger man's scrabble to get inside and put on his shirt.
While inside, Zuko took a deep breath and quickly arranged himself to go outside. Turning around, he noticed that his uncle had already finished and was opening the door for the old woman. "Give my nephew a second more", Iroh commented, and then stepped out to speak quietly with the woman. Zuko stepped out moments later, ready to go ahead.
The group reached the table set outside. As they approached, the young teen observed that 'breakfast' was simply a cascade of different fruits, fresh bread, tea and milk. As he waited for the other individuals to arrive, the boy took a seat next to his uncle, who had in turn sat on the left of Ora.
Ora, seemingly in her own world, stared out at the table with emotionless eyes, and then looked to Iroh. "We do not eat much meat here, aside from Xiong, so I didn't set any out for our breakfast. I apologize if that's to your displeasure."
Zuko merely shook his head no, and Iroh smiled. "This arrangement is well enough for us, we have not had such a meal since–", stopping, the old man reached up and pulled at his beard. "Well, I can't remember the last time we had a meal like this." Zuko chose not to further the discussion by looking away from the table and up towards the approaching couple.
The young girl from earlier had changed her outfit to a kimono of purple while her husband simply trudged behind dressed again in the Earth nation clothes from the night before. Behind them appeared a small girl, no more than 5, clutching tightly to a ragged doll in her arms. The little girl wore a shorter kimono, much alike that found in the Water tribe. It was an array of colors, starting with deep red at the girl's neck and ending with a pale violet at the bottom hem.
Zuko again chose not to say anything in regards to this. It was pointless, stating the clothing laws set by the Fire nation when he did not follow them himself. Instead, he waited patiently as the three individuals sat opposite of himself, and his uncle. The oldest woman had sat down at the opposite end of the table while the other's were approaching.
The table guests ate in silence for several moments before the older woman coughed once and began to speak. "General Iroh", she began, only to be stopped by Iroh hand.
"My lady, it is simply Iroh now. I no longer serve as an officer for the Fire Nation army."
The woman smirked at this correction, a glimmer of humor in her eyes. Once again, she started to speak. "What news that is, Iroh, and here I was thinking that you still had–", and once again a hand rose to correct her, this time being Ora's.
"Auntie Bone, no politics at the table. Please make your point so that Iroh can finish his breakfast."
'Auntie Bone' laughed at this and cleared her throat before coming to her point. "Dear sir, it has come to my attention that you seem to be experiencing some pain in your lower stomach. Perhaps you would like me to see if I can help relieve that after breakfast? It comes at no trouble, since I am a waterbender."
Iroh smiled slyly at the older woman and nodded, then returned to sipping his tea.
Zuko once more kept his mouth shut, preferring an inner calm at the moment opposed to screaming for information as he had the night before.
Act IV: Clear Knowledge
Zuko sat quietly beside his uncle as the old man observed Ora before them, weaving a tapestry of gold and green. She hummed softly to herself and seemed to be completely oblivious to her audience. Iroh smiled as he picked up on the tune from the girl, and began to sing the song out loud. Zuko, finding this behavior ridiculous, rolled his eyes and crossed his arms in front of himself.
Ora stopped her handwork and finally noticed the men to her left. For the first time since their arrival, she smiled at the former general and shifted her posture to face her company. "It's been a long time since I've heard someone sing that song", she said softly as Iroh finished part of the tune. Softly and sweetly, she continued the song, closing her eyes and raising her hands to her chest as if it were a prayer.
Zuko watched, spellbound, as the girl sang the rest of the lullaby-like song. He let a rare smile gaze over his face briefly until he heard his uncle's applause. Turning his head towards the older man, Zuko listened as Iroh complimented the girl on her perfect finish.
"You sound even more lovely than your mother did", he complimented, laughing at a supposed old memory. Ora laughed as well, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Everyone sang better than my mother, Uncle."
Iroh began to chuckle heartedly at this opinion, and when he was finally able to speak, only 'tsk'ed the young woman and shook his head in disbelief. "Your mother was a lovely woman, none-the-less. Such a good hostess! She was one of the last who truly appreciated the beautiful art of tea-making!", then sighing to himself, the old man drifted into his memories, leaving the two youths to sit in silence, amused by his good humor.
After a while, Ora turned her attention to Zuko and smiled. Unsure of how to react, the young man's face twisted into one of confusion, waiting for the girl to make her point. Seeing the prince's reaction, she soon did. "Zuko, I am aware that we have not had a proper introduction. I apologize for my earlier behavior in this case. I am Ora, a former governess of the Fire Nation."
Zuko was surprised. After what his uncle had said that morning, how could this be possible? Before he could question her, however, Iroh stepped in to pose a question to the woman. "Would you mind, Ora, if perhaps I could explain that further to my nephew. I told him some information earlier about this area that might lead him into confusion." Ora nodded in agreement and sat silently as Iroh continued to tell the girl's history.
"After your great-grandfather gained power, he appointed several men he considered allies to be governors of his growing lands. The second man he appointed was Ora's great-grand father, a former Fire sage called Lior, who traded in his robes of the Western Fire Temple to serve as a general for Sozin's army. Lior was well-known as a strategist, and held the left hand position to Sozin at the Fire Lord's War chamber. As such, the sage-turned-governor's family remained in close contact with the Fire Lord's. I remember as a young boy being trained on occasion by Ora's grandfather, Governor Niu, and then playing with her father, Captain Hao-cun. But when we became teenagers, things between us changed.
While Hao-cun and I were friends, he and your father were not on the best of terms. But, for the sake of family traditions, the two never spoke more to one another than was needed. Except on three occasions. When Hao-cun married an Earth noble named Azadeh, when Azadeh and a young Ora moved to an Earth village after Ozai banished her, and when Hao-cun-- "
Ora interrupted, "My father did not agree with your father becoming Fire Lord, Zuko. When your grandfather died, my father thought at first that Iroh would gain the throne, or perhaps even you. He told me once that out of the eligible candidate, only you two would have made any difference to the Fire Nation's status. You two would've changed the war. But, for some reason, Ozai was appointed as the Fire Lord."
Again Iroh began to continue, seeing that his nephew stirred uneasy at Ora's confession. "I know you are unaware of this name, Zuko, as it has been–"
This time Zuko spoke. "My father banished Captain Hao-cun because the traitor did not understand loyalty. He ran away when my father needed him most!"
Iroh, placing his hand on Zuko's shoulder, moved to rebuke his nephew's statement but was again interrupted by the young woman, who immediately stood at the accusation, walked over to Zuko and slapped him hard across the face. "You know nothing, son of Ozai", she stated, her voice even but sharp. The young man pushed away from his uncle and held his hand up to nurse the bruised cheek. This did not stop Ora from continuing, however. "My father did not run away. After his last argument he was killed because he could not stand for another hundred years of war and addressed this concern to your father. You know how such actions as those end, young prince. The proof is laid upon your face."
Zuko, still mildly surprised by the girl's remarks, grew mad, yet could not decide if it was from Ora's words or the embarrassment of his own. So calmly the young man stood up from his seat and moved around and away from the two observers, then returned to the room he had used the night before.
This time it was Iroh's turn to stay silent, while Ora simply continued to watch as Zuko slid the doors together.