DISCLAIMER: don't own AVATAR.

My favorite chapter yet! "There ain't no cure for the summer time blues" whoops, lyrics from a song I like. (Summertime Blues by: The Who)

Chapter 10: Mother

Rymeku sat in his great Uncle's personal library, searching through every book, scroll, and anything else that held text, for a clue to his heritage. After seeing the former Fire Lady in front of him, Rymeku had felt extremely unsure of who he was anymore.

"Mommy, why don't I look like you? All the other boys look like their mommies." A young Maiku, now Rymeku, asked Fire Lady Zula, whom he thought was his mother. Which was a lie.

Zula looked down at her nephew, whom she called her son, with a deceiving smile.

"Prince Rymeku, you take after your father." Zula said surely. Rymeku tilted his head.

"Then why haven't I seen my daddy?" Zula's gaze darkened.

"Your father was executed for treason to the Fire Nation." Rymeku looked away.

"Oh." Zula tried to bring a smile to her face, but it looked rather grim.

"Come now, it's time for your lessons." Rymeku took his 'mother's hand.

"Yes mommy."

Rymeku did not believe Zula anymore. Green eyes belonged to the Earth Kingdom people, while he did have the hair and skin of Fire Nation, his eyes did not belong. Somewhere along the line, Rymeku's 'mother' was lying.

Rymeku was pouring into book after book, opening scroll after scroll, trying to figure out the truth. But the truth is so easy to look for, when you know what it is you're looking for.

He placed his chin in his hand, and took a steadying breath, three days of no sleep of food, and Rymeku hadn't found anything. But for some reason, sitting here, in Great Uncle Iroh's study, it felt rather familiar. As if it had happened before, just not in his lifetime.

Suddenly, Rymeku came across an old doctor's record. It was about his mother!

3rd Day of Mid-Summer

The Princess Zula is still ill, feeling pain in her lower abdomen. Something could be wrong with her womb.

4th Day of Mid-Summer

There is indeed something wrong with Princess Zula's womb. Fire Lady Kellie says it's called cancer. She says there is a cure, but refuses to tell me and the other physicians.

The next few entries were mainly the same thing. Saying of how Zula felt pain, and Kellie refused to give the cure for the cancer. Until, lo! Here it was!

15th Day of Mid-Summer

Fire Lady Kellie has finally told me and the physicians the cure! But it is ill news to hear. She says the only way to cure the cancer in Princess Zula's womb is to remove the womb itself. If not, the results could be fatal.

The next few entries told of the doctors preparing for the operation.

20th Day of Mid-Summer

The operation was a success. The Princess Zula's womb is removed, and she shall be fine. Though there will be no Princes of Princesses coming from her body. It shall be only from Fire Lady Kellie and Fire Lord Zuko that there will be heirs.

Rymeku closed the journal, and replaced the lock on it. He stared at the front cover of the doctor's journal for five minutes. It was impossible, untrue! He had to be Fire Lady Zula's child! And yet, this was a doctor's journal, and no doctor would dare lie, the punishment was execution, no matter what Nation. So, he was… Kellie's child.

But how come there were no family trees telling of who he truly was? Why did all the family trees say he was Zula's child?

Because she knew this would happen. You would eventually begin to doubt her, so she destroyed the evidence, but forgot one journal…

Rymeku sighed. But, there had to still be some followers of the former Fire Lady, and if there were, they would be trying to preserve everything they could of her and her husband's reign, wouldn't they?

"No, Prince Rymeku, I do not support the Fire Lady Kellie." The guard said solemnly. Rymeku nodded.

"Thank you." But before Rymeku walked away, the guard asked him a question.

"Why do you want to know?" Rymeku answered from over his shoulder.

"My mother has caught wind that there might be rebels working as guards to gain information. My mother has ordered me to snoop them out."

"Oh, yes sir. Sorry if I upset you, sir." Rymeku walked down the stone laid hall, without answering.

No, not really.

It went on like this, every guard swearing to Agni, the Great Fire God, that they did not support the former Fire Lady. Until, after hours of questioning, Rymeku had found a shred of light in the darkness of his world.

"Do you support the former Fire Lady Kellie Kelso?" Rymeku asked for the thousandth time that day. The guard looked around. It was just him and the Prince.

"Come in here, boy, and don't make a sound. And don't tell any of them supporters of Zula what I'm about to show you." The guard motioned Rymeku into a hidden room, and locked the door behind them. Rymeku noted, 'them supporters'.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting for this, boy." The guard said quickly, getting scrolls and books and journals and paintings out of cupboards and off of shelves.

"Zula's a bitch, and needs to go. I was with the set of soldiers that first arrested the Fire Lady when she came back to our world. I knew what was going to happen. The world was going to change, boy, and for the better." Rymeku nodded.

"You came down here, questioning all us guards, and them supporters of Zula are idiots, they believed those lies you fed them. But I know the truth. You are finally realizing that what Zula's been telling you all these years have been lies, haven't you, boy?" Rymeku looked surprised that the guard knew so much.

"Yes. I read in a doctor's journal that Zula had something called cancer. And she couldn't' have children." The guard nodded, and smiled that Rymeku had called the Fire Lady, Zula.

"Yah, it was when she was still a Princess. Not before she took the throne. And she would have had you after she took the throne." Rymeku nodded.

"Do you have any proof, that I'm Kellie's boy?" The guard nodded. He pulled out a scroll and opened it, revealing a family tree.

"This was made before Zula took the throne, and before she destroyed all evidence of who's child you really were." The guard pointed to Zula, there was no line below hers. Then he pointed to Zuko's line, which was connected to Kellie's. And below the lines that represented the former Fire Lord and Lady's lines, was Prince Rymeku's name. Only, it was Prince Maiku.

His true identity.

"Well, now I feel down right guilty. Kicking my own mother out of the Palace. But now, I can take my revenge on Aunt Zula, for lying to me all my life." The guard smiled.

"Yes, now for the rebelling. We would be honored for you to join us, sir." The guard and Prince Rymeku stood up, and shook hands.

"I would be honored, sir."

"Then welcome aboard, Prince Maiku."

YAY! NOW U C Y I LUVED THIS CHAPTER!

2day sucked, I had 2 do humiliating exercise in front of the guys in PE, nearly collapsed later on in PE, and because we got so much snow, the bus couldn't get up the hill, so I had to walk the rest of the way home. But at least it snowed!

SEASON FINALE TOMORROW, NOBODY MISS IT!

INSANITY AT ITS FINEST
LONG LIVE THE HIPPIES!

Zukoscute2