That night…

Pakku really, really wanted to know what Ola and Tarao were saying. He wanted it so badly that, against his better judgment, he asked the students in his junior class to follow Tarao. There were five students. Between them, they managed to track Tarao for the whole afternoon. One of them reported back to him after his afternoon class, like he had ordered.

"Good job, Kalla. If waterbending doesn't work out, you have a promising future as a spy." Pakku patted the boy on one shoulder. Kalla nodded and left, looking downcast. But that was normal for him lately.

Kalla's report indicated that Tarao was sitting at home. Pakku was torn about what to do. He didn't want to stake out Tarao's house, for multiple reasons. But he had no way to know when Tarao would leave it in order to attend a conspiratorial meeting. What to do…

There were many courses of action available. He could choose any of them. But one course of action that was not available was giving up. Someway, somehow, Pakku was going to find his way to that meeting.

.

Kalika zipped over to their house so she could have an extra long talk with Mushi. Mushi greeted her with his usual smile. He made tea for her and started to prepare dinner. They chatted about inane topics for a while until Lee poked his head in. He swung his upper body through the entryway. "Hey Uncle, I'm alive." Then he swung back out again, as smoothly as a metronome.

"Did I just see…?"

"I saw it too," Mushi replied. "He was smiling."

Kalika chuckled. "Tonight's plans should go very smoothly."

Mushi sipped his tea. "You have plans?"

She nodded. "I'm going to take him back to the hospital and have him help at least one patient there. A young child."

"He is not a doctor."

"Sick people don't just need doctors. They also need someone to listen to them, to entertain them, to make them laugh. There's a lot he can do to benefit his community. Lee doesn't seem to know that. He has a low opinion of himself. I'm going to show him through his own actions that he is a good and worthy person."

Mushi grinned. "Now I see! That's a great idea. It might just put a smile on his face."

"Keep a smile on his face."

"Oh, right." Mushi stroked his beard. "Do you know why he was smiling just now?" Kalika shook her head. "Well, whatever happened, I'm glad for it. I asked him to make himself happy, and now he's happy. We can finally have a relaxed night."

Kalika paused mid-sip. She blinked, then lowered her cup. "You asked him to make himself happy?"

Mushi nodded. "I told him I wouldn't let him avoid people and stew in his anger. I ordered him to do the opposite of those things."

Kalika's mind made several loud clicking sounds. "Lee followed your instructions several nights ago. He's been spending dinner meeting with other people and having positive interactions."

"He has?"

"He hasn't told you." More clicking sounds. "But he told them that the reason he was coming over was to get you off his back. He must not have been telling them the whole truth. If getting you off his back wasn't actually that important to him, what was his real reason for going over?"

Mushi made supportive sounds and did nothing to interrupt her thinking.

"And the people he's been visiting at dinner are the Avatar and his friends."

Mushi coughed. "What?! He hates the Avatar. The last thing he said to them was that if he ever saw them again, it would be in conflict."

"He's teaching Aang things that will help Aang be a better Avatar right now."

Poor Mushi looked like his head was going to explode. He checked on dinner. Several long silent minutes passed. He served dinner. Kalika wondered what he was thinking about.

"You were right," Mushi told her. "I don't know my nephew nearly as well as I thought I did. I was wrong about even the most basic things. I really do need to start over."

"It won't be as hard as you might think," Kalika reassured. "Lee wants to open up to you. You just have to show him that you'll let him."

As if to prove her right, Lee stormed in at that exact moment. "Uncle, you're not going to believe what I just learned."

.

Before sitting down, Aang said, "I had an idea for today's lesson."

He and Zuko sat down. "What was it?" Zuko asked.

"I have some questions about bending. Instead of a lesson, you can just answer my questions. It'll count toward our deal."

Zuko nodded. "What's your first question?"

"The other guys in my class are confused. You said waterbending power comes from the water itself, but they've heard their whole lives that waterbending comes from the moon. Waterbending is stronger at night, and strongest when the moon is full. What's going on?"

Zuko blinked. "...Good question. Give me a minute." He looked to his right, away from everyone else, towards the entryway. There was nothing there but carpet and wall. Zuko raised his fist, palm up, and knocked on the floor.

The whole house creaked. Sokka jumped, Katara gasped, and Aang froze. The ice on the ceiling lifted up like the fur off Momo's back. A line of bristling ice ran across the ceiling, down the wall, to the floor, pushed back the carpet, then settled down. The whole patch of newly revealed floor turned to water that rose up in a fat tentacle about as wide and tall as Sokka. It waved back and forth lazily, like it was waiting for something.

Aang's mind raced. What was the water spirit doing? Was it going to attack, or was it friendly? What should he do?

"What's going on with the moon?" Zuko asked.

Aang glanced at him and saw Zuko looking perfectly relaxed. The firebender wasn't even surprised. His knock… Had he called the water spirit out?

The water began to move. The end of the tentacle curled over to form a circle and lifted high into the air. Then it uncurled and tapped some invisible thing in front of it. Then it split in two and formed two half circles, one larger and behind the other. There was a pause in which nobody reacted. The larger tentacle split in order to reach forward and touch the smaller one.

"I see," Zuko said. He turned back to Aang. "The moon is Water's spirit child. When the moon is around, water spirits get happy and excited, which makes them more active, which means you can get more power from them. Next question."

Aang, Sokka and Katara stared at him like he had sprouted three heads. The silence was deafening. Aang's mouth dropped open. "The water spirit is…Water?"

Zuko glanced sideways. The water tentacle was now dancing back and forth across the pool's surface. "Yeah. Duh."

"The water spirit is Water," Katara repeated. "One of the four elements that make up the whole world. It is literally the element Water. It literally is a quarter of the world, and it decided it doesn't want you to go home."

"Yeah…"

"You came here…in order to get rid of…literally one of the four elements."

"I was exaggerating," Zuko replied. "All I really want is for it to leave me alone. Go bother someone else." The water stopped dancing, lowered the end of its tentacle and waved it back and forth like shaking its head.

"Those weren't metaphors," Sokka squeaked. He was snow white. "Those weren't metaphors!"

"Of course they weren't. Have I ever spoken metaphorically?" Zuko looked around. "Wait. You people didn't know the water spirit was just water?"

"Why would we know that?!" Aang asked.

"What are you talking about? You've seen the water spirit plenty of times. Look at it." Zuko gestured at the water, which was once again dancing. "It's water that's moving on its own. It's obviously water that's moving on its own. That's literally what we're all seeing right now. How could you possibly not know the water spirit was one of the four elements?"

"I thought some invisible spirit was bending the water." Even as Aang said it, he realized how stupid it sounded.

"You thought an invisible spirit was bending the water." Zuko looked at him flatly. "That seemed more likely than the water moving on its own."

"I never thought that water could move on its own," Aang whispered.

"It does it all the time, Avatar. Do you need waterbenders to make a river flow?"

Aang sputtered. "I just - I never thought - you weren't using metaphors, were you? The elements are literally alive, and have personalities, and the spirits in the spirit world are literally their children."

Zuko's face scrunched up like he was in pain. "You thought I was using metaphors? Since when do I ever…" He buried his face in his hands. The water came to him, wrapping itself around his shoulders comfortingly.

"You're a firebender," Katara said.

Zuko lowered his hands and stared at her like he couldn't understand why she said such a completely nonsensical thing.

"And that's…Water."

"Yeah?"

"Why didn't you tell us the thing that was attacking us this whole time was one of the four elements?" Sokka snapped. "Attacking you, I mean. What did you do to anger one of the elements? And why did you risk our lives keeping that a secret from everyone?"

"I didn't," Zuko snapped back. "It was never a secret what it was. Look at it. How could you not see that water moving on its own is water moving on its own? It's been right in plain sight this whole time. How could you not know? I never expected you people to mistake flowers for pandas!"

"So that's how you knew it was following us!" Katara crossed her arms. "You knew it had to be following us because we always have water with us. Why didn't you just say so?"

"Why would I ever need to say so?"

"Because Water isn't usually alive!" Sokka yelled.

"You're an idiot! It's always alive. It's always been alive. All of the elements have always been alive. It's not my fault you're too blind to understand that!"

Aang gagged. "I've been drinking a living thing my whole life?"

"Where do you think your life comes from? You're a group project between them, remember? You're made of them. Stop acting like this is weird."

"It is weird," Sokka said.

"No it's not. It's just basic reality."

"Right. Because it's totally normal for parts of your house to get up and start dancing."

"Well, no." Zuko looked away. "That part's not normal."

"Sokka asked a good question. Why is one of the four elements mad at you?" Katara narrowed her eyes.

Zuko bristled under her gaze. The water came over to him again. It patted him on the head. He slapped it away. It tickled his cheek next. "Stop it!" he hissed at it.

"Why is it patting you on the head if it's mad at you?"

"It's not angry at me. It's… Oh, forget it. I can't believe you people." Zuko stood up. "I'm out of here."

.

"I still don't get it!" Zuko ranted to Kalika. "I've been thinking about it the whole way here, and how could anyone not know - I mean, look at that fire. Look at it. It looks smug, right? It moves. People talk about fire like it's a person all the time. I know most people don't think it's really alive the same way we are, but the water spirit acted with planning and purpose, and they all said as much, and still they didn't realize it was alive? It was literally right in front of them in plain sight! He asked me where the water spirit was and pointed at the ocean! The whole ocean! It was right where he was pointing!"

Kalika and Iroh gaped at him. "You sound frustrated," was all she could say.

Zuko made a garbled sound. He clenched his eyes and squeezed his fists and tried not to explode. It was in plain sight! Right there! Anyone could have seen! Anyone! Anyone, if only they had bothered to look, if only they hadn't made up stories about what it was and believed their own stories over the truth! It was right there in plain sight, and it was invisible! Just like I was. "Aaaaggghh!" he yelled. "How can people do that? What is wrong with everyone? I hate humans!" He jumped up and ran for the stairs.

He collapsed in the middle of the upper floor because he was shaking too hard to stand. He pressed his hands against his eyes. "How can they do that?" he muttered. "How can they be so cruel and stupid? Why would they do that?" He started to cry. Even Mom didn't believe me. She called me mistaken.

When Kalika came up the stairs several minutes later, he was still crying. He didn't stop himself; he let her see. She knelt next to him and hugged him and didn't say a word. "How could they do that to me?" he squeaked. "They all said I had to be mistaken or confused. I was just a little kid. I couldn't know what I was talking about. I couldn't be telling the truth. But I was, I was, and nobody heard me. It was like I never spoke."

"Sounds like you and the water spirit have something important in common," she murmured.

"Why do they do that to us? People like Sokka, like my father… Why? What did I do?"

"You didn't do anything, Lee."

"You don't deserve any of the bad things that have happened to you. You didn't do anything wrong." He remembered saying that to Riri. He burst out sobbing again. "I just don't understand. Why? Am I just not good enough? Am I so ugly I have to be covered up with stories? Why am I so ugly? I didn't ask to be born this way. It's not my fault. Please."

Kalika sobbed. "I hear you, Lee. I hear you." Her voice broke on the last word. He took his hands down from his face, turned to her and hugged her back. Her grip on him tightened until finally it was strong enough to convince him that he was being held, that he wasn't alone, that someone was there who wanted to comfort him.

When at last they looked up, he saw a blanket of ice draped over the both of them. Its weight was what he had felt. "Mom." He stiffened; he hadn't meant to say that. It just slipped out.

"You're thinking about your mother," Kalika said while wiping her face clean. "Why is that? Did she believe you when no one else did?"

"No."

Kalika finished wiping her face and looked up at him. Zuko saw this out of his peripheral vision. His gaze was fixed on the ice. His arm raised itself, hesitated, then reached out. His hand touched the ice. The ice turned to water and let his hand sink into it. It flowed around him, slowly, gently, twining itself around him. Water wrapped around his shoulders, his belly, his neck. It pressed against his heart. Soft ice stroked his head. Zuko closed his eyes.

"You have two moms," he heard Kalika whisper. "And one of them's a spirit."

"Don't tell anyone."

"I won't."

The water let go of him. He opened his eyes. As soon as he saw Kalika, he blushed. "Sokka was right. I'm weird."

"No. You're fantastic. There's a difference."

"Definitely don't tell Sokka."

"I definitely won't."

Zuko closed his eyes again and meditated to bring himself under control. His heart still panged whenever he thought about the events of the past half hour. He took deep breaths.

Eventually, Kalika held his hand. "Do you want to see someone who could never make up stories about you?"

He nodded. "How does my face look?" She used water healing on the unburned half of it, and pronounced the result not blotchy. Still holding his hand, she led him downstairs.

"We're going now," Kalika told Iroh. "See you in the morning." Zuko didn't miss how strangely Iroh looked at him. Like he's never seen me before.

The walk through the cold, dark city at night soothed him. They walked side by side, no longer holding hands. Wind whipped their faces. "Is the air alive too?" she asked.

"Yes."

"It sounds like it's laughing."

They climbed stairs to reach a bridge. "Is Air on your chart?"

"Yes. Aunt."

"Fire and Earth?"

"Father 2, and not on the chart."

"Father 3?"

"A regular spirit. One I see only in my dreams."

He saw familiar buildings and realized where they were going. "The hospital."

"Yes."

The head nurse looked up as they entered. "I was wondering when you'd come," she told Kalika. "Welcome back, Lee. Is everything alright?"

"After everything that the doctors here did for him, he's very grateful. He's here to give back. Is Mallum awake?"

The nurse nodded. "I'm not sure there's anything that can be done," she whispered.

"Lee's a miracle worker with children," Kalika said with a smile. "Lead the way."

Zuko's heart pounded. He was no healer. What if he couldn't do anything? What if Kalika had brought him here to bother some poor sick kid for no reason? His stomach churned as they followed the nurse to a dark room.

The nurse lit a few candles on a table. The table was the only thing in the room aside from a single set of pelts. The room only held one patient. "Mallum?" she called softly. "You have a visitor."

The boy buried in the pelts blinked his eyes open. They had dark rings underneath them, easily visible against his pale skin. "Hi," he croaked, and smiled.

Everything inside Zuko changed. His skin might have been the same, but he felt like a whole different person as he knelt next to the boy. "Hi. I'm Lee."

The boy swallowed. "I'm sick." He giggled.

"Do you want to see something incredible?" Zuko asked. The boy nodded. Zuko raised his hand and placed it flat on the wall to Mallum's left, where the boy could see it. He curled his fingers into his palm. When he took his hand away, he held a feather made of ice.

"Cool," Mallum said with a grin.

"Nope. Not even a little." Zuko brushed the feather against his cheek. "Feel that? It's not cold at all."

Mallum's eyes widened. "W-what? It's soft. But it's made of ice."

"Uh huh." Zuko took the feather back and waved it up and down in the air. They watched the fibers of the feather rise and fall, rise and fall, as it brushed through the air. Mallum's mouth hung open. He looked like a normal kid again.

A touch of cold made Zuko's shoulder muscles tense, stopping the feather. Then a spark appeared, rising from his stomach into his arm and darting out to his hand. Zuko's palm stung fiercely, and the feather erupted into light. It glowed as brightly as the candles, a strong orange glow in the center of the feather fading to pale yellow on the outer edges. The light sparkled in Mallum's eyes. The boy gasped.

Are you inside the ice? Zuko asked the fire spirit. In answer, it moved from the center to the edges of the feather. Now the edge glowed orange while the center was white. Zuko's mouth hung open. He was just as enchanted as Mallum. Fire in water. I never knew you could do this.

Mallum wriggled one hand out from under his pelts. Zuko gave him the feather. The boy held the feather and stared at it in awe. He waved it up and down. He tickled his nose with it. He blew on it. Finally, he looked at Zuko. "How?"

"Spirit magic," Zuko whispered back. He winked.

"You do magic?" Mallum began to grin. His innocent awe reminded Zuko of the children from earlier. I can do anything. Zuko placed his hand flat on the wall again and channeled the fire spirit. His palm burned as stars spilled out of it. The glowing lights spilled up the wall, onto the ceiling, into the floor, across the other walls, everywhere. Mallum laughed aloud. It was like he was floating in the sky. "Stars!"

Zuko laughed too. "Stars."

He looked at Mallum fondly. His smile faded as he saw how pale the boy still was. Is there really nothing that can be done? When Mallum finally got his fill of the stars, Zuko said, "Lie back. I want to try something."

"More spirit magic?"

Zuko nodded. He removed the pelts. He put one finger in the center of Mallum's forehead and closed his eyes. He traced a line straight down, over Mallum's nose and lips, down his neck, down his chest, and finally to his belly. This was mostly for theatrical purposes. Zuko didn't need to touch him in order to ask, Can whatever he has be healed? One pulse for no, twice for yes. The water spirit pulsed twice.

Zuko opened his eyes and removed his hand. He smiled as he put the pelts back on. "Don't lose hope," he told Mallum. "Your sickness is not beyond the reach of doctors. You can get better."

Mallum grinned. "Your magic told you that?" Zuko nodded. "Wow!"

Zuko stood up. "You should get some sleep. And don't be startled. The magic only works within a certain distance of me. When I get far enough away, the stars will go out and the feather will become hard and cold." Mallum nodded. "Goodnight."

Zuko walked back out to the hospital's admitting room in perfect confidence. He knew he was being watched, but it did not bother him. He turned around. The head nurse flinched. "Are the stories about you...true?"

Zuko smiled. "I'm not telling."

"I did say he was a miracle worker," Kalika said. "We'll be going now." She dragged her eyes off of him and walked out as if nothing strange had happened. Zuko followed as if nothing strange had happened. Nothing strange happened. I'm not strange. I'm magical. What was that word she used? Fantastic. That's me.

Kalika led him part of the way back to his lodging. At the base of the stairs, she stopped. She turned to him and leaned in, her voice a hushed whisper. "There's something I can't help but wonder about, Lee. It's not traditional, but after what you just did, I think it would suit you."

"What's not traditional?"

"For men in our tribe to be water healers."

Zuko froze. He spent several seconds doing nothing but hope he was hallucinating. When she kept looking at him and he realized she was serious, he had to start breathing again. He shivered. "W-what?"

"Are you okay?"

It was hard to catch his breath. "No." His heart beat faster and faster. He began to panic. How does she know? Is it obvious? Does everyone else know? Is it written on my face?

Kalika put her hands on his shoulders. "Lee. Lee."

He glanced around in quick, jerky movements. "I have to - get away - " He took a step back, then another, then started running. The world blurred around him. He couldn't hear anything. He couldn't see anything beyond the ground in front of him. He couldn't feel anything except the burning of his muscles and the panic that urged them on. Finally, he felt the burning of his lungs. He turned into the nearest crevice between two buildings and collapsed, choking. The dry air stopped his panic. It felt like it was ripping his heart out.

Kalika found him several minutes later. Breathing was still painful, but he was pretty sure he wasn't dying. He coughed. She approached him very slowly and carefully. "Is it over?" she whispered.

He nodded instead of speaking.

"Here." She gave him a flask of water. He gulped most of it down and coughed again.

Several more minutes passed. Zuko cleared his throat and found he could speak again. "I'm not comfortable with that idea."

"I can see that."

He looked up at her. "Do you really think I would be good at it?"

She nodded.

That poor kid. If I could do something to help… Zuko held out his hands.

Kalika hesitated, then took his hands and turned them over. She pulled a small amount of water out of her flask and held it beneath his hands. "Take it," she whispered. He did. It made him shiver. "Now try to concentrate your power. Think healing thoughts."

Zuko looked down at the water. Concentrate my power. She must mean the water spirit's power. He summoned more and more of the cold feeling into his hands. But at a certain point, he found he was calling up warmth too. No, your power won't help, he told the fire spirit. But he couldn't separate the two. He gritted his teeth and tried to forge ahead. Now think healing thoughts…

The fire spirit in his hands burned. He hissed and drew his hands back, shaking them to work out the sting. "Ow." The water splashed onto Kalika's knees.

"What just happened?" she asked. "I've never seen water healing hurt anyone before."

Zuko tried again. He got the same result. As he cradled his aching hands, he said, "I don't think I can do it." Because I'm not just a waterbender. The fire spirit interferes.

"Oh. Well, it was worth a try." Kalika looked disappointed, but only for a moment. "You still have many abilities that are useful in a healing context. People who are sick or hurt always need hope. They need someone to listen to them and show kindness. And did you mean what you told him, Lee? That he could get better?"

Zuko nodded. "I can, uh, communicate silently with the spirit of Water. I asked the water in his body if doctors could help whatever he had. It said yes."

"If I had to choose between hiring someone who could do that and hiring another water healer, I would hire you in no time flat." Kalika shook her head in amazement. "You have a future here if you ever want it, Lee."

Zuko forgot all about the pain in his hands. I have a future? A vision flashed before his eyes. Himself, helping out at the hospital, applying bandages made of ice and using his water spiritbending to carry severely injured patients. His mouth fell open. It was the first time he had ever envisioned a future for himself that wasn't becoming Firelord. I could do that?

"You talk a lot about how disappointed your real family is in you. You might be completely right, but their disappointment doesn't have to mean that you are disappointing. You are not. You helped a child today," Kalika told him. "Nobody who helps children can ever be a failure." She touched him on one shoulder. "Remember that." And she left.

Zuko stood in the crevice between the buildings and watched her go. His thoughts fell silent, as though a thick blanket of snow had been draped over them. As if he had gone into a blizzard and disappeared.

.

Tarao did eventually leave his house. Pakku followed his footprints and found Tarao speaking with a man who looked shockingly ordinary. If he hadn't been speaking to Tarao, Pakku would barely have noticed his existence, would have dismissed him as some passerby. That man went away and was replaced by a team of two others, who also looked exactly like innocuous citizens. Tarao conferred with these two for a long while. Pakku could not hear what they were saying, but he could make out their lowered heads and hunched shoulders. The spies were doubtful. Tarao was doubtful. Pakku smiled.

He then followed Tarao to an open alleyway. He hid on a bridge passing above. It felt familiar. Pakku realized this was exactly the same alley where the Avatar and Katara had foolishly tried to practice in secret. Why would a grown, politically experienced conspirator make the same mistake as a foolish child? Pakku looked around. Was it a trap? He did not see anybody coming towards him. Should he move on in case someone was watching the bridge? But he had to hear the meeting. Blast it!

He heard faint sounds from below. "What are we doing here?" Ola hissed. Pakku settled down. If Ola didn't understand it either, maybe there was no trap.

There was a pause. Then Tarao said, "I asked you here to make a declaration. I will not help you anymore."

Pakku's eyes widened. Victory! But more importantly, no trap! Tarao had chosen this place precisely because it was so open and easily spied on. Ola could not make too much of a scene without risking attention, which kept Tarao safe from immediate retribution. It was no mistake.

"What? But you agreed with me. You told me yourself, the boy's hesitation - the fact that those were obviously fake names - was reason enough for suspicion. You placed them close to the palace so they could be easily watched. You suspect them of being firebenders just like I do."

"I did. But I've changed my mind. I've seen how that old man and his nephew interact with the common people of the city, people they have no reason to win over. The old man plays games at a favorite diner. My people have played with him, and seen nothing worse than a penchant for betting. And his nephew is fast becoming a favorite among children, despite or possibly because of his obvious mental problems for which he is seeking treatment. He has been visiting the Avatar and he just now went to the hospital to assist a child. These are kind people, not murderous monsters. I will not help you condemn innocents."

"It's part of a long term plan. You have spies yourself. You know how deeply they must work themselves into the background, become part of common life until they can sneak anywhere without being noticed."

"Exactly. A spy would never fake panic attacks that send them running through the city at odd hours, spread rumors that they are a spirit, and openly practice unusual powers. The boy could have passed himself off as a nobody when he first arrived here, but now that he's turned himself into a legend he can't go anywhere without being noticed. I still don't know what he's doing in the wilderness, or what he really is. But whatever he is doing, it's not spying."

"Why fake names then?"

"He may have expected or planned that he would attract attention, and doesn't want to be too widely known. Or conversely, he's attracted this kind of attention before and didn't want his reputation to precede him."

"You don't think gaining this kind of influence over the people of a city is dangerous? You're a fool, Tarao. Rumors hang on his every word. People listen to him. You may be right; he might not be a spy. He might be something much worse. An agent sent in to gain power and overthrow our tribe from the inside."

There was a long pause. A long, long pause. Pakku's good mood vanished. Ola's argument was persuasive, and worse, true. Zuko was in fact gaining power. Anyone who didn't know exactly what kind of power it was would have good reason to be suspicious of him. The mental problems Tarao had mentioned wouldn't protect him for much longer. Pakku began to rehearse scripts he could use to tell the king about twospirits.

"If that was true, would he not have made some effort to engage with people in power by now?" Tarao asked. He sounded doubtful again. This time, that was not a good thing. "Despite having a ready opening to speak with the princess, he wasn't done so, nor with any other highly placed person."

"More than once, you mean. He ingratiated himself to the princess with a friendly question, won over the archivist by requesting his help, and has established friendly contact with Master Pakku through his uncle. And do you think the king is not inclined to hear him more favorably now that he has the support of women and children? That young man could get a private audience with the king tomorrow. Ask yourself, Tarao, what might happen if he did?"

Pakku could all too vividly imagine what might happen if a suspected traitor was able to get a private audience with the king. Blast! Ola was completely right, and though he didn't have any concrete proof of wrongdoing he had more than enough proof of possibility to place Zuko under tight restrictions. It was possible, even likely, that Ola was no longer the only person suspicious of the young prince. Without once suspecting that Zuko could be a firebender, all the rest of the king's advisors were probably on high alert just because Zuko was clearly someone of importance. Pakku had to make a move, and fast!

He didn't stay to hear Tarao's reply. It would only be perfunctory anyway. Pakku hurried back to his house. What to do, what to do…