Zuko only realizes he's shaking when Sokka grabs the knife from him. The fruit he'd been trying to cut into manageable pieces for Suki and Hakoda slips out of his fingers. He can't stop shaking.
. . . . .
General Iroh has men watching the sky, praying for some hint of the Avatar's bison but at the same time hoping they're smart enough to fly at night. He's headed to Ember Island though his warship will remain well out of sight. Hopefully Zuko has returned safe and sound. If not, it's on towards Hira'a to find more people to infiltrate the Boiling Rock. Agni knows that hellhole can withstand an actual siege for months or more.
. . . . .
Hakoda wants to sleep after eating as much fruit as his son will allow, his stomach swelling painfully but thankfully everything stays down. The Kyoshi Warrior who is in much worse shape than he is has already fallen asleep, her stomach distended and dried tears streaking her cheeks. Hakoda is sure he has streaks to match. It's still not real, even with the wind rushing over his patchy bald head, it doesn't seem real.
The chief glances at the prince, the reason he's still awake. Zuko's still shaking, staring at his hands in shock. Sokka opens his mouth to say something, anything, but doesn't know where to begin.
"Tell me what happened," Hakoda orders, his voice much stronger than he himself is.
Zuko jumps, looking up at the older man with horror stricken eyes. "I-I-I," he stutters, unable to get the words out. Finally, he manages, "I killed him. I killed him. I burned him and I kept going until he was dead. I killed him."
"What!" Aang shouts, unfortunately hearing Zuko over the wind as they fly full speed towards the beach house to get Hakoda and Suki to Katara's healing powers, hugging the waves to stay out of sight. "What do you mean you killed somebody?"
"This isn't the time, Aang," Sokka snaps.
"No! I have to kill the Fire Lord. I've come to terms with that, but that doesn't mean we should just go around killing people!" Aang retorts, turning to glare at his companions before his features soften at Zuko's haunted expression.
Hakoda reaches out slowly, holding Zuko's shoulder, turning him away from the Avatar. "You did the right thing, son. You made sure we could all get out safely. Sometimes we have to do things we don't want to, to make sure the people we care about are safe."
Zuko remembers the crunch of bones breaking on the ship. The rage, the fury rising up inside of him. It'd come out of him today, even though he'd felt a thousand miles away from it. His hands are still shaking. "I killed him," Zuko repeats, staring in horror at his hands. "I burned him alive."
. . . . .
Katara can barely breathe. She can feel the blood draining out of her and here she is, a bloodbender, unable to stop it. Her arms feel like lead.
She has to keep going, keep stretching. It'd exhausted her but she'd opened the drawer, now she just needs to reach inside.
There!
Her fingers close around the oasis water, the gift from Pakku that's supposed to have extra healing powers. Please, she prays, please let it be true.
. . . . .
"Quickly, unfurl the Four Nation colors!" General Iroh orders as a seaman happens to notice a six-legged bison flying barely above the sea foam in the distance. It was pure luck that they were noticed at all. With a heave, a new flag bearing the insignia of all four elements and large enough it should be easily noticed is released over the side of the warship. It's a new design, one his nephew and the Avatar don't know but he hopes it will be enough to at least interest them. Iroh breathes a sigh of relief as the lookout shouts down that the bison is changing course.
After circling once Appa lands with a loud thud on the deck. "Is Zuko with you?" Iroh shouts before Aang even has the chance to jump down.
"Yeah, he's-"
"Uncle?" Comes the reply. Zuko climbs slowly down from Appa, his face curiously blank, a perfect mask of neutrality.
Iroh pulls the young man close, wrapping his arms tightly around his nephew. "Prince Zuko, it's good to see you in one piece. I could hardly believe it when your mother told me you'd left for the Boiling Rock." Zuko doesn't respond, doesn't really hear the words, just returns the hug barely, his brain again retreating to a numb safety.
Iroh continues greeting everyone, forcing his face to not betray his rage at the sight of Chief Hakoda's or the Kyoshi Warrior, Suki's, conditions. It seems the Boiling Rock has transformed from a maximum security prison to something much, much worse. "Get a doctor," Iroh bellows as Suki shrinks into Sokka's side.
There's too many men, too much metal, too many firebenders. Sokka's hand tightens around her shoulders. "You're safe," Sokka whispers into her hair. "They'll bring you plenty of food and you'll get to rest. No one will bother you." Suki nods slowly though her shoulders don't relax.
The doctor arrives, takes one look at the two former prisoners, and immediately starts barking orders. Hakoda, who has already been onboard Fire Nation vessels and can walk much more easily after eating well the past day, follows the doctor down into the ship. Suki takes more convincing but Sokka holds her hand the whole way to the infirmary, not letting go even once she's settled into small cot near Hakoda, a folded up screen behind their beds. Trays with small bowls of meats and rice are brought in quickly. Suki digs in, annoyed at how small the portions are. Hakoda follows suit. It takes only a minute for them to scarf down the food and then Suki resumes looking around nervously, her big blue eyes darting from place to place.
The sight of a Northern Water Tribe girl a little younger than Katara walking in with water skins slung around her shoulders calms the Kyoshi Warrior significantly. "Hello," she greets the trio, bowing slightly. "I'm Amka, a healer. Let's get you fixed up. Forgive me Chief Hakoda, but I believe Miss Suki needs my attention first."
"By all means," Hakoda waves her on while Sokka scoots out of the way, careful to maintain contact.
Amka's jaw tightens as she takes stock of Suki's condition. Suki looks away from the piercing eyes, swallowing down tears. Shame burns in her belly like a hot coal. She should have fought harder. Amka turns to Sokka. "I need you to stand by your father and close the screen. We need privacy."
"I'm not leaving her."
"I assume you want her to be healed, correct? If so, we need privacy. Now, move." Sokka's thrown off by the brusque tone, something women from the Northern Water Tribe aren't known for having. After assuring Suki he's right there, he's not leaving, he closes the screen between them, nibbling on his lip. She seems even more out of it than yesterday, even with the food.
Amka motions a guard over, muttering for him to talk to the Water Tribe men loudly so she can have some privacy with the woman before pulling more screens around them. There's definitely something to be said for being on a royal warship as the rich wood screens would be unheard of anywhere else. Once the men are talking loudly enough that Amka can have some semblance of a private conversation, she asks Suki to undress.
"No," Suki whispers.
"Please, I have to start by healing your skin, not just your insides. I need to see what I'm working with. I can't imagine what you've been through, but with how much healing it looks like you'll need, I need to see."
Suki hangs her head. "If I do show you, you can heal me?"
"I can try. I'll do my best."
Slowly, with trembling fingers, ties are undone and the grey, grimy, threadbare tunic falls away. Amka grits her teeth, her jaw clenching so hard she's amazed a tooth doesn't crack. It's so much worse than she could have imagined. The healer can count every rib, can see the bruises and scratches mottling the poor woman's torso, can take in the size of the burn scar traveling up from her elbow to the base of her neck. There's a lot of work to be done.
She starts with the bruises and the cuts. The glow of healing water fills the space, reflecting off the screens enclosing them. Suki sighs in relief. Eventually, as the water hums happily against her skin she finds the energy, the desire even to ask, "What's a Northern Water Tribe girl doing here?"
Amka smiles. "Master Katara showed up we could help so we are. The men aren't too happy about it, but if she can do it, so can we."
Suki slowly returns the smile. It feels stiff on her face. "The same thing happened on Kyoshi Island. The Avatar and his friends came then we decided to join the war effort." The smile fades. "Maybe it would have been better if we hadn't."
Amka carefully rests a hand on Suki's forearm, looking her deep in the eyes. "I'm sure you made a difference. I'm sure someone is alive now just because of you."
Suki scoffs, "But how many have been put through hell because I led them to the fight?"
Upstairs in the privacy of Iroh's room, the old general turns to look at Prince Zuko who still has hardly responded. "Nephew, what happened?"
Zuko doesn't look up, just sits down with his head in his hands. "I killed Chang," he whispers, so quiet that Iroh can barely hear it. Zuko continues, his voice flat as if he's reading it from a scroll. "He went to scream, to beg for mercy, call for help, I don't know. I put my hand over his mouth and I burned him from the inside out."
Iroh's heart drops into his stomach. He's tried so hard to protect Zuko, to shield him from the true brutality of war as much as possible but it's not possible to hide that forever. "Zuko-" the prince still doesn't look up. Iroh sits down beside him, pouring them both a hot cup of tea. "He was an evil, twisted man." The right words never exist in times like these. Iroh should know, he's watched enough young men make their first kill, listened to enough of them cry and scream and pray for forgiveness afterwards. The worst ones are the ones like Zuko, the ones who bottle it up, push it down, the ones who shut down to avoid feeling anything at all. They burn themselves alive with the guilt. Iroh doesn't say anything more, just sits in silence, offering his company.
As the sun dips down, Zuko speaks again, his voice timid, and full of regret. He sounds so similar to the child he once was, to the boy who had just wanted his father to love him. "I didn't know what else to do. He hurt Katara, he hurt her when I was supposed to take care of her. He hurt her and I didn't stop him before. I wanted to hurt him back." Zuko's fingernails bite into his hand. "I wanted to hurt him back." With those words the dam breaks and the Fire Nation prince collapses in on himself. "I wanted to!" he cries, tears streaming down his face. "He hurt Katara, I don't know who else he hurt. I wanted to and I'm no better than my father! I'm just as bad as he is! So many people are dead because of me!"
Iroh pulls the sobbing young man close, his heart breaking. "You are nothing like your father," he tells Zuko firmly, he'll tell him until he believes it dammit! "The fact that you're upset about this only proves that point."
. . . . .
Fire Lady Ursa waits by the door in her full royal regalia, pulled from one of the many closets in the beach house, complete with the crown that she's carried with her in hiding all these years. The biggest difference, the thing that she's sure had helped prevent Zuko from recognizing her is the scar across her neck, a parting gift from her dear husband before she'd sunk a knife into his personal assassin's guts. Her brother-in-law and her son should be here any minute.
Her fingers toy with the sleeves as she tries to forget the dead woman upstairs. It must have been loyalists, they must have found out you were here. We'll take Ozai down together and avenge her. She repeats this over and over, practicing her expressions of shock and horror as she looks out the window. She puts the waterbender out of her mind, focusing instead on her son. What will his reaction be? She has to admit that even after spending this time with him she has no idea who he truly is anymore. Will he hate her or will he rush to embrace her the same way he did as a child?
Finally, she sees them! A small boat sails up to the pier, the Avatar's bison flying low behind it. Her heart beats in her chest, hammering against her ribs like a drum as she watches the group – large enough that she can safely hope her son is there – climb out of the vessel. Two of them walk painfully slowly but as they all approach, she can make out Zuko's form, accompanied by her brother-in-law.
. . . . .
"What do you mean my mother is here?" Zuko asks yet again in response to Uncle's offhand remark about how worried she'd been. The surprise is enough to pull him from his dark thoughts.
Confusion crosses Iroh's face. "Yes, she said she arrived some time ago? She said she's been with you."
"No, she hasn't been. A servant, one of mother's handmaids, Azmia has been with us."
"Azmia's been dead for years. She had a falling out with my brother after Ursa left and she 'fell' down some stairs."
Zuko pauses, putting two and two together. "Does my mother have a scar now, right across her neck?"
"Yes."
Prince Zuko doesn't respond. Instead, he speeds towards the beach house. There's no way. There's no way his mother was here this whole time! Toph tries to greet him but he rushes right past her, bursting in the front door. There, right in front of him stands his mother. How could he have not recognized her? Even in servant clothes and with the scar he should have recognized her! Now, she stands before him in royal robes, her golden eyes soft and inviting, her face welcoming, she's actually here! He has to bite back the sob rising in his throat. He wants to rush forward, wants to embrace her but his feet won't move. "Mom?"
Ursa doesn't try to hide the tears in her eyes. "Yes, Zuko, my son. It's me, I'm really here." She holds her arms out hesitantly and he steps forward, crossing the space between them. She pulls him in and he buries his head in her shoulder, noting how much taller he is in comparison to her. She'd smiled at him when he said he would grow up to be big and strong, now here he is so much taller than her. She still smells the same though, like mangos and hibiscus. He'd asked her when he was little and she'd told him the scents, showed him the perfumes. She must still have some.
His brain replays a thousand little interactions, little snippets on his childhood. They'd fed the turtleducks together. She'd bandaged his bitten fingers but warned him against messing with the babies. He and Azula had sat beside her, nestled safe in her arms as she told them the tale of the Dragon Emperor and Empress back before Azula went crazy. His father shoving his mother then turning on Zuko when he'd cried. Azula telling him that Grandfather had ordered his death. His mother telling him how much she loved him. So many memories, moments he'd cherished and moments he'd tried to forget flood his mind.
Eventually, he pulls back, cupping her face in his hands, ignoring the tears in his unscarred eye, wiping away the tears in hers. "Why didn't you tell me it was you? Why did you come here as a servant?"
Ursa looks down, ashamed. "My son, I was afraid you would hate me. I wanted to know who you were, get to know you first before coming back into your life."
"I could never hate you!" He responds emphatically.
"I know that now. I'm so proud of you Zuko, I'm so proud of who you've become." She hugs him tightly again, thankful the hiding, the running, the fear is finally over. The lying isn't over, but she can live with that.
Zuko glances down at her neck. "Is that from-"
"Let's not talk about it. It's in the past. All that matters now is we're here together." She glances over at a very annoyed Iroh who has just walked in. His disapproval of her antics is painfully clear but she chooses to ignore his cloudy expression. The clouds fade as Zuko turns around, a smile put in place for Zuko's benefit.
"It's good to see you two reunited at last. When your mother first came to me after the Day of Black Sun, I was more than eager to send her here where I knew you'd head eventually."
"Thank you, Uncle." Zuko doesn't bother with a bow, instead just hugs his uncle. "Thank you."
Zuko would gladly stay and talk, simply bask in the presence of his mother, but Hakoda and Suki walk in, drawing his attention. Suki is doing much better after the healing session but she and the chief still sit down quickly as soon as they're in the shade of the house. Sokka looks at the woman, confusion plain on his face. "Azmia?"
"No, Sokka, this is my mother!" Zuko replies, a grin splitting his face. "She's been here this whole time, just didn't tell us!"
"Uh huh," Sokka responds, giving the woman a once over. The robes are old and the crown is impossible to ignore. The biggest change is the posture, she's every inch a lady and alarm bells sound in Sokka's head. The Fire Lady, Zuko's own mother, hates his sister. He can't let this woman interfere with his sister's happiness.
"Well it's nice to officially meet you, Fire Lady!" Aang beams, bowing to Ursa.
She responds with a courtly bow. "You as well, Avatar."
Chief Hakoda greets her, nodding to her from where he rests. Ursa returns his gesture as well. Suki, on the other hand, frowns, sitting up a bit straighter to look at the older woman. "From what I've heard General Iroh wasn't in the position to stop Ozai and he's played a major role in the efforts against the Fire Lord. You were there, you saw firsthand what Ozai was like and you did nothing, you haven't helped at all. Why should we trust you?"
Ursa regards the injured woman cooly, "I killed Fire Lord Azulon to protect my son. In return I had to run for my life from Ozai. I don't believe I was in a position to do much of anything to stop him then."
Suki's frown only deepens but she doesn't respond. There's something about this woman, something so like her daughter but she can't quite place it. She ignores the gold eyes looking down at her.
"Where's Katara?" Zuko asks, cutting the tension.
"Oh, she said she was tired after lunch so she's upstairs resting." Ursa smiles softly at her son. "I'll go wake her."
"No, no, that's not necessary. I'll go."
No! He shouldn't be the first to see the body. Yes, it would make an impact but she doesn't want to completely scar the poor boy! "It's fine, Zuko. I'll go, I'm so used to helping out now, it really is no worry."
"No, mother. You stay down here and relax. You don't have to serve anyone anymore." Without giving her the chance to protest, he sets off. Truth be told, he wants a moment to breathe. Chang, his mother, there's too much going on right now, too many emotions and he just needs a second to catch his breath. Katara's form comes into view, the blanket twisted around her legs. Zuko closes the door behind himself, not wanting to wake her with a thud. Instead, he pads over to her, relief coursing through him as he enters farther into their private little world, away from burnt bodies and sunken eyes. That's when the smell hits him. Blood. His eyes widen as he notices the puddle his lover is lying in.
"Uncle!" He screams, rushing to her, praying to Agni and even Tui and La that she's ok. Her hand is limp but she's still warm. A vial he recognizes as the one given to her at the North Pole rolls out of her fingers as he scoops her up. "Uncle, help!" He screams again. To his eternal relief, the woman in his arms stirs.
"Zuko?"
"Katara!" he gasps, "You're okay! What happened?"
"Zuko, you're here!" She grits her teeth, trying to stay awake. She's lost a lot of blood.
"What happened?" Zuko demands but the waterbender is already unconscious again. Footsteps pound up the stairs. Sokka, Aang, and Uncle burst into the room, Ursa not too far behind them.
"What wrong, what happened?"
"It's Katara! She's bleeding!"
"What, how?"
"I don't know!"
"Aang, go back to the ship and bring Amka," Iroh orders, taking control of the situation. "Sokka, go and get buckets of water for when the healer gets here. Ursa, open the shades and the windows. We want to get as much fresh air in here as possible, then grab fresh linens." Aang and Sokka immediately set off but Ursa stays frozen in place, she shouldn't be bleeding, she should be dead. Ursa starts to shake, watching her son clutch the waterbender, holding onto her for dear life. She did what she had to, Ursa reminds herself. It's better for his lover to be taken away than his nation. That is of little comfort in the face of her distraught son.
"Ursa!" Iroh snaps her out of her reverie. "Now!" Iroh's reminded of the ship, the macabre scene that he'd found then, as he convinces his nephew to gently lift her up, to find the wound.
Zuko's fingers search for the wound along her ribs where the blood is most concentrated but find nothing. His search widens but still turns up nothing. "There's nothing there," Zuko sighs with relief. "She must have been able to heal herself."
Ursa, just on her way out to get new bedclothes, falters before quickly resuming her steady pace out into the hall. How could she have survived? There was no water! She'd made sure the girl would be too tired, too drugged to bend! Sokka passes her with a bucket, the first of many she's sure. How could this have happened?
As the sheets are changed Hakoda and even Suki walk into the room. "What's going on?" Hakoda demands as he sees the Katara in Zuko's arms and blood caking his little girl's clothes. "What's going on!" He asks louder when no one answered the first time.
This time Ursa responds slowly, shakily, "It must have been loyalists. They must have found out Zuko's here. It must have been!"
Hakoda's breathing gets heavier, "Tell me she's going to be alright," he whispers.
"She'll be fine, Dad. Aang's getting the healer from the ship."
"She'd damn well better be alright!" Toph shouts from the first floor. With all the commotion she'd actually come inside and now slowly makes her way up the stairs hesitantly until Sokka goes to help her.
"We shouldn't have this many people in the room! It will make it harder for the healer once she's here!" Ursa insists.
Iroh nods, "That's probably for the best."
"I'm not going anywhere," Hakoda interjects and Sokka quickly agrees.
"Yeah, and I didn't trek all the way up here just to leave!" Toph adds while Suki nods.
In the end, Amka is the one that makes the call, kicking everyone out rather forcefully except for Zuko who hasn't let go of Katara this entire time. Amka runs water over the other waterbender, trying not to be distracted by the fact that it's Master Katara, the woman who dared challenge Pakku, who she's healing. Once the blood is cleared away, Amka gives her a visual once over. "You're right. There's no wound."
Zuko holds up the vial. "I found this in her hands. She may have used it."
Amka rolls the vial between her fingers. "It's water from the Spirit Oasis. It probably saved her life."
Zuko doesn't respond, just grips Katara tighter. Slowly Amka pushes healing water into her until her breathing is no longer quite as shallow. A knock disrupts her. Ursa comes in, setting a bowl of clear broth down beside them. "I thought she may want some when she wakes. It may help."
"Thank you, Mom."
Ursa's hand lingers on her son's shoulder. "Is she going to be alright?"
"I think so," Amka answers. "She's not entirely out of the woods yet but it's good she has the spirit water."
Ursa squeezes Zuko's shoulder. "Good. I'm glad. I'll be right outside if you need anything."
The sunlight begins to fade and Amka makes Zuko get up to light the lanterns around the room. He's hesitant to step away from Katara for even a moment but he has no desire to argue with the girl healing her. Eventually, Amka stops, the healing glow fading. "There, that's all I can do for now. I'll need to see how she's feeling once she wakes up."
"If you've healed her, why isn't she waking up?" Zuko questions.
"If I had to guess, I'd say she's probably exhausted. The last several months have been rough on everyone. Combine that with getting attacked and almost killed, her body may just need time to recover and rest. She'll probably at least sleep through the night. Once she wakes up maybe we can get a better idea of what happened but for now just stay with her. I'll have more food sent up that will be easy on her and leave it by the door so she's not disturbed. Just get it whenever she wakes up. In the meantime, you need to eat what your mother brought. You need to keep your strength up too."
"Thank you," Zuko mutters.
Amka closes the door behind herself, leaving Zuko alone with a still Katara and his thoughts. He brushes the hair out of her face. Who would do this to her? His mother had said loyalists most likely. If that were the case, wouldn't Fire Nation soldiers have come instead? It's not like the people on Ember Island were his allies, the army could have come and drug him away. It doesn't make sense. He buries his face in her hair. Nothing makes sense.
He stays like that, dozing, until his stomach grumbles. He looks up. There's no light outside, it's well and truly night time and the cicadas are serenading him. Zuko rubs his eyes, trying to clear some of the blur away. His stomach growls again. The soup is still there and the healer told him to eat. He downs it in a few gulps. It may not be enough to fill him, but it's enough to pad his stomach and let him rest.
Amka managed to keep everyone out for the night but Iroh's up early enough to accompany her to check in on Katara in the morning. "General Iroh, I really think it's best if I just go in to check really quickly. I don't want to disturb the prince's privacy for too long."
Iroh chuckles. "Well, it's a good thing I'm disturbing his privacy then, not you. Isn't it?"
Amka rolls her eyes. The waterbender hates to admit it but she quite enjoys the general's company though she has slipped up and called him grandfather once already. "Fine, whatever you say."
"Thank you, my dear." Iroh smiles widely at her, thankful for the girl's presence. If she hadn't been here, who knows what would have happened to Katara. Iroh's unsure of what to make of the situation. The windows had all been closed but an assassin could have closed them afterwards. The part that confuses him the most is the target. An Ozai loyalist would surely have told the army or the guards or realized that attacking Katara would only enrage Zuko. It could have been someone loyal to Zuko who didn't want a waterbender on the throne. It could have been someone loyal who thought Zuko would be too soft on the loyalists after taking the throne so wanted to provoke him. The possibilities are endless and each one has its own concerns, namely who knows where Zuko is.
"Prince Zuko," Iroh calls outside his door, picking up the untouched tray of food which Amka takes from him. "I guess she hasn't woken yet." He repeats louder, "Prince Zuko." When there's still no response, he slowly opens the door. He'd been met with fireballs for doing this when the prince first took command of his ship. Over time the fireballs had stopped but he had still hated to be disturbed. Eventually, it seemed the prince didn't mind and Iroh would wake him up with news of the previous night's pai sho game. No matter how much the prince objected and fussed, he didn't kick Iroh out and instead would listen, rolling his eyes the entire time.
Today, with Katara's stability unsure, Iroh opts for a quieter way of waking the prince up. Amka stands next to Katara, about to check on her while he shakes his nephew's shoulder with no response. "Prince Zuko?"
The food tray crashes to the floor, Amka's face as pale as the sheets, her eyes fixed on Zuko. Without another word, she pulls uncorks her water skin, advancing on the prince. Iroh grabs his shoulder, rolling him over only to gasp in horror. Zuko's already pale skin is tinted blue. Foam collects at the corner of his mouth. The boy's breathing is shallow, hardly there. If they'd been any later…Iroh claps a hand over his mouth, stumbling backwards as Amka bends water all over him, unsure of where to even begin. Who would do such a thing! How!
"Iroh! I don't know what to do!" She cries, her water is telling her it's everywhere inside of him.
Iroh blinks, unable to tear his eyes away from his nephew, muttering prayers he hasn't said in a decade.
"Iroh! I need help!"
"What's going on?" Katara wakes up slowly, coming to with Amka on top of her, stretching to reach Zuko. Her voice immediately grows firmer. "What's going on!"
"Master Katara!" The healer Katara doesn't recognize moves enough to let Katara sit up, but doesn't take her hands or her healing water away from Zuko. "I need your help! Something happened to Prince Zuko!"
With those words Katara snaps into action. She's slower, her bending is sluggish, but she's healed him enough times, ran her water through his chi enough times, that she can take at least some of the pressure off of Amka. She doesn't ask questions, doesn't focus on anything except the man beside her.
Iroh still can't breathe right. This shouldn't be happening! Zuko's supposed to be safe here. An assassin wouldn't have bothered with poison when they could have just stabbed the prince. What is he missing! His eyes light on the bowl on the ground near his feet. Fear grips his heart. "Who was the soup for?" Amka doesn't respond, focused instead on trying to heal the prince. "Amka, who was the soup for? Who brought it?"
"His mother. For Katara." The answer comes like a blow to his gut, he staggers back from the realization. He knows. It's how she ended Azulon, a threat to Zuko. Somehow, even though it feels like he's been dunked in ice water, he isn't even surprised. She would protect Zuko, no matter what. That's what she'd said to Iroh when she'd told him about Azulon.
He isn't even aware of moving until he's in Ursa's room, yanking her up by the arm.
"Iroh, what's going on!" she yelps.
"Come look at what you did and pray there's an antidote."
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
He rounds on her. "Your son is dying!" he shouts, every lantern in the house burning brighter. "You tried to kill Katara didn't you, you tried to poison her last night and your son drank it!"
All of the blood drains from Ursa's face. "No, no, no it was for her! He wasn't supposed to-"
"Wasn't supposed to! He wasn't supposed to have to worry about his own mother trying to kill people he cares about! Tell me you have an antidote!" He grabs her, wants to shake her. "Tell me you can fix this!"
Ursa doesn't look at him, doesn't meet his eyes. He lets go in disgust.
"What's going on?" Aang and Sokka pop their heads in.
"Make sure she doesn't go anywhere. She's not to leave this room. I swear Ursa, if he dies you'll regret ever coming back. You'll regret ever seeing Fire Nation shores." Iroh, usually so level headed and controlled, snaps before turning on his heel and rushing back upstairs.
Eventually Toph and Sokka are sent to fetch food. Nothing in the house is deemed safe. Ursa is confined to her room under Aang's watchful eyes. Iroh brings the healers water but there is little else for him to do. Once Katara passes out from exhaustion, he makes her comfortable but aside from that, there's nothing. So he paces.
He paces and paces and paces.
Zuko coughs.
Iroh springs forward, his hands flying to his nephew's forehead, smoothing down the hair as Amka leans back on the bed, utterly spent. "Nephew? Can you hear me? How are you?"
Zuko coughs again, trying to sit up which Iroh quickly helps him do. Zuko looks around, confused. "What happened?"
Iroh grimaces, unsure of how to answer that. How much of the truth can he say right now. "You were poisoned, Prince Zuko."
"What about Katara!" He looks to his side where she's resting. "Is she okay now?"
Iroh's smiles fondly at his nephew. Even after almost dying he still cares so much, he still wants to make sure the people he loves are okay. "She's fine. Tired, but fine. She and Amka have been healing you."
Amka raises her head and nods briefly at the prince before collapsing back onto the bed again. "Thank you."
"I want Master Katara to like me. Don't think she would if I let you die," the healer quips.
"Did you catch whoever did it?"
"Yes," Iroh responds. If the response was a little too quick, Zuko doesn't notice.
Hearing the sounds of conversation, Sokka brings up something to eat. "Here, figured you might need this." Sokka drops the food unceremoniously into his lap, trying and failing to not look concerned.
"Thank you. Is it safe?"
"Yeah, tasted everything myself, just to be sure." Sokka laughs, rubbing his stomach, trying to ignore that he knows full well why the food wasn't safe in the first place.
Zuko softly nudges Katara awake, the smell of food definitely helping rouse the sleeping woman. Amka repositions to take what Sokka offers her as well, slowly getting off the bed to eat.
"Zuko," Katara murmurs.
"And Sokka. Sokka's here too," Sokka points out loudly.
Katara wakes up the rest of the way. Looking at the people in her room, the corners of her mouth starting to wobble. She cries, "I was so scared!" Tears start to fall now that Zuko's out of danger, now that she can breathe. "I didn't think I was going to make it!"
Zuko hugs her tightly as Sokka gets beside her to do the same until the tears start to subside. Zuko strokes her hair until she's calm before finally asking. "Did you see who did it?"
Katara looks up at him with her big blue eyes, barely able to not start crying again. She wants to lie, oh how she wants to lie about this but she can't. He has to know. "Zuko," she whispers. "Your mom is here. Azmia, the maid, that's your mother."
"Yes, I saw her, it was great. I'm so happy she's here but what does that have to do with anything? Did you see who hurt you?"
"Maybe let's talk about that tomorrow," Sokka interjects. "I'm sure there's plenty of time to get everything sorted."
Zuko ignores his comment, looking at the woman beside him who suddenly won't meet his eyes. Zuko glances around at Sokka and Iroh, neither of them meeting his eyes either. "What aren't you telling me?"
"It was your mom, Zuko. She stabbed me," Katara whispers.
All of the breath goes out of Zuko. "No, no, she wouldn't do that! Why would you say something like that?"
Iroh steps forward. "You can ask her yourself, Zuko. When Katara was able to heal herself and Ursa realized Katara would live, she left poisoned soup for her. Poisoned soup that you ate."
"No. No, I refuse to believe it. My mother is good and kind and-"
"And hates Katara. She sees her as a threat to your rule."
Zuko crosses his arms, trying to avoid the logical explanation, trying to find something, anything that would make his mother innocent.
Iroh gently adds, "She confessed, Prince Zuko."
"No!" Zuko scrambles out of bed as quickly as he can. The poison still in his system doesn't let him move as quickly as he wants, doesn't let him storm downstairs to his mother's room. Instead he stumbles and shambles down the stairs. Iroh follows but the others stay. It's not right to intrude on this specific family moment.
Ursa sits beside the mirror in her room, wondering how exhausted the healers are, how quickly she would die if she were to open a vein. It would save Zuko the pain of having to punish her, it would save herself from another exile. She still hasn't made up her mind on whether she should do it or not when the door slides open.
"You're feeling better!" Aang smiles at the firebender who just ignores him, his golden eyes locked onto his mother. With a look from Iroh, Aang quietly exits the room.
"Tell me you didn't," Zuko chokes. "Please, mother, tell me it's not true."
"Zuko, I-"
"Tell me it's not true!" He shouts. "Please!" He puts a hand over his mouth, trying to stifle the pain, the anger, emanating from him. The lanterns jump.
"I was trying to keep you safe. You weren't supposed to drink that. It was for her."
"How could you! How could you do that! You left, Mom! You left me and now you want to come back and pretend that nothing's changed. Worse yet, you come back and you act like you know what's best for me and who I should be with. You wanted me to make her a mistress!" His face twists with disgust at the thought. "You haven't been here. You were gone! Uncle, he's been here, he stayed with me through everything. Katara, she's been here. She's the one that showed me the truth, she's the one that showed me I could be better. You don't get to decide for me if she's going to be in my life or not!"
"Zuko, she will get you killed! Your enemies will use her to depose you! You don't know the court the way I do, you don't know the pressures you both would be under. They will kill you because of her! I'm trying to protect you. I've always tried to protect you!" She sobs, her voice thick with tears. "Zuko, please, my love, listen to me. Everything I've done, I've done to protect you."
Zuko's shoulders slump. "I can't believe you. I really can't." He turns away and on unsteady legs, goes back to bed, turning his back on the mother he's wanted nothing more than to see since she left.
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Well…I don't have much to say here, not after a chapter like this. Thank you for the reviews, I reread them multiple times and even showed them to a friend that had been my sounding board for the previous chapter. Thank you everyone