Title: Bastard Son
Pairing: Partly one-sided Iroh/Aunt Wu, hinted Song/Zuko
Rating: PG-13

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The scandal it would've aroused.

The dishonor on his family, on his nation, and most importantly, on his—their—son, would've been far too much.

She was but a lowly Earth Kingdom slave with a knack for fortunes kidnapped from her village to serve under the heir to the throne of the Fire Nation, who, at that time, had been quite handsome (although she would always find him attractive; portly and all). He was bright-eyed, fresh-faced and smart. He wasn't blind to the ways of his Nation, but he didn't seem ashamed.

So when Wu found she was in love with the Prince, she was not entirely surprised.

"Iroh," his proud father had told him. "This is your new chambermaid." He had not said her name—she doubted he even knew it, nor would he ever. Even though, and would never realize, what a role she would play in their nation.

Iroh had been different. He wanted to know about her culture, where she came from, what life was like in the Earth Kingdom. He had asked, most importantly, her name. That was the beginning. That was when she first began to love him. She was not a day over twenty-five.

When she found he was betrothed, she was crushed. But still never surprised. That was one thing about the relationship they shared; Wu found she would almost never be surprised about anything. He was a Prince; of course he would be married. She was still young and had only been dreaming. What kind of future could they have together?

She was sure that her love wasn't mutual; if anything at all, she was considered a friend. And she could try to be satisfied with that.

On the eve of his wedding, Iroh had been given a bachelor party. He was a prince, so naturally it was a different kind of bachelor party than the one her brother had been thrown. There were no exotic, dancing women but there certainly had been drinking.

It had been late into the night when he stumbled in dizzily; immediately Wu knew he had had plenty to drink. He hiccupped his way over to her—she had been turning over his bed in preparation for his sleep. It would be her last night as his maid (it was improper, some believed, for a married man to have a female maid working in the bedroom).

"Evennning, Wu," he slurred. A strong, calloused hand cupped her cheek. Wu's heart began to thump harder than it ever had before. "You loookk so pretty tonight," the other hand began to rub her shoulder relaxingly. Was it any other man, she would have felt violated. But he was drunk and his actions could not be controlled, so calmly she removed his hands and led him towards the bed, where he could sleep off the drink.

Iroh obviously took this as something else and the minute they reached the bed he pulled her down with him. He began to kiss her.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, someone was protesting. He was stark drunk and she was taking advantage of the situation, letting her immature, teenage-like fantasies take the reins. But, despite the horrible nagging, she did not even try to stop him. It felt so good, she reminded herself. To be caressed and kissed by the man she loved; even if it were for only one night. In the morning she would get out of bed early and he would not remember a thing. Nothing would have happened.

She felt her common sense temporarily erase the minute her maid's gown was thrown to the floor.

---

Of course, Wu would still work in the Palace. When the Fire Nation took slaves, they were never released. She also knew she was lucky; a small number of captives ever lived, let alone given an easier job in the palace.

She was given the job as the day maid for Iroh's betrothed.

Wu never found she could really hate anyone, but that didn't stop her from being severely annoyed with her Lady. She was nice enough, but she constantly forgot her name and wasn't nearly as interested with her as Iroh had been. Plus, although Wu hated sounded catty, she was fairly ditzy.

She still got to see Iroh, even if he had his muscular arms around another woman. Just as she predicted (Wu began to realize that her predictions were becoming more and more truthful), he didn't even remember. She wondered if she was his first; if she had committed a crime by taking a betrothed to bed.

Into her second month of work for the Princess, Wu began to feel different. She found herself kneeled over a bucket every morning and had the strangest cravings for food she hadn't even thought she'd like. One afternoon while her Lady was out for a walk with the teenaged Ozai, Wu spread out her tea leaves and lit her candles. With a feel of her palm, her eyes closed, she knew the cause: she was pregnant.

The very next day, her Lady declared herself to be with child.

---

Once again, Wu was not surprised to learn she would give birth alone. She was the only Earth Kingdom citizen in the entire palace (save for a male stable hand) and hardly anyone else spoke to her. So when the baby chose to arrive, she ended up having her child enter the world behind the barn, in front of a grazing pig-cow herd.

She cried and screamed in pain, finding slight relief in grabbing tuffs of grass and holding onto them for dear life. But the bone cracks had told her she would have a safe delivery, and she had faith in her predictions.

The baby had never aroused suspicions. Wu was never frail or slender, slightly plump, and the work clothes she had been given were already a few sizes too big. At the height of her pregnancy the baby only showed a little through her maid's dress, and then people just assumed she had gained weight.

Another push, she told herself, and her baby would be here. No one heard her, except maybe the Earth Kingdom stable hand. But if he did, he never said anything. Everyone was awaiting the birth of Prince Iroh's son, who was due any day now (doctor's had said the baby would be an early birth, by a few weeks).

With a final pull on the grass and moan, her baby entered the world in a field behind a barn. As foretold, her baby was a boy. As much as she was tired, Wu forced herself up and pressed her son to her chest.

His crying was loud at first, but he quieted after a few minutes of her holding. She looked down upon her sweet baby boy and she thanked the spirits he looked almost exactly like Iroh. Hastily, she added another thanks for not having any benders in her family.

As the sun began to rise, Wu was wandering the halls of the Palace with her son bundled against her, wondering what to do. Run away? Yes, it was her only hope. She could only pray this boy would not be a fire bender…

She picked up her pace, concocting a plan as she made her way towards the gates. She almost collided with another woman, whom she made out to be another one of the Princess's maids, a shy Fire Nation peasant. She mumbled a "Sorry," and attempted to brush past, when she noticed she was carrying something.

A blue-faced baby lay unmoving in her arms.

For a few minutes, neither woman moved. They stared into each other's eyes, wondering what to do next. "Ti," she said, addressing the Fire Nation maid, "I have never told anyone this, but I am a powerful earthbender." She was lying, so what? A white lie never hurt anyone. As far as anyone in the palace knew, she could have come from a noble family of master benders. "And as long as you tell no one of this, I shall let you live."

Ti couldn't find it in herself to croak out any words, so she dumbly nodded her head.

"Now," Wu continued, "who is that baby?"

"T-the Prince," Ti stammered. "I am on my way to inform our Lady that her son did not make it."

Wu found her back straightening. A plan formed in her mind. "No Ti," Wu was finding difficulty believing she was being so bold, so sneaky. "You are on your way to bury my dead baby, who no one knew about, while I am going to deliver the little prince to the Princess."

Ti's eyes widened. "Understand?" Her voice was firm, and to this day, Wu still was in shock by how commanding she had been. Once again, Ti bobbed her head up and down, too scared to disagree. "Good. After tonight, I will be gone. You will never speak of this again. If you do, I will hunt you down and send a rock smashing down upon your head." It was stern, but commanding; enough to knock fear into the shy woman.

Wu held her head high and briskly walked down the hall, going in the direction Ti had been heading. She found the chambers and with a plastic smile, presented the Lady with her son. "He is a healthy boy," Wu found she still had a shred of bravery left in her. After this, she would collapse onto her bed. But she would be gone before the sun raised the next morn.

"Oh, thank you, Wa," the Princess said approvingly, mispronouncing Wu's name once again. "Please fetch Prince Iroh and tell him I have delivered a healthy heir to his throne." Exhaustion was coming quickly now, arriving with the first wave of tears. Seeing her baby, her son, in the arms of another woman, was simply too much. She managed out a nod before running out the door and collapsing against the wall in sobs.

As it would be, Iroh himself was on his way to his wife's chambers to see his son or daughter when he nearly tripped over the crying Wu. Pity took over his heart and he bent down to Wu's level. "Wu, is everything alright?" He asked, concerned. No one would ever know, but Wu had always held a small place in his heart.

"My son," she croaked out before realizing she was speaking to someone. Even though it was hard and she was so tired, she abruptly stood, doing her best to wipe her tears. "I mean, your son. He is a beautiful baby boy, I am just, so happy for you." She choked on happy. A wobbly grin painted itself across her full lips.

Over come with joy, Iroh could only distantly notice that she was lying. "Well, if you're alright," he said hurriedly, anxious to see his son. Wu nodded.

That was the last time she thought she would see Iroh.

---

When she saw him, aged and plump, riding on the back of that beast with an angry looking boy and a vicious woman, she couldn't have said she was surprised.

But then again, Wu, now called Aunt Wu, was a fortune teller; she was never surprised.

She knew he would refuse her offer, but when her eyes fell upon the boy for the second time, she stared at him for a few moments with fascination. "Oh, but what about you? You have a touch of destiny on you, I'm sure," she taunted teasingly, a smile upon her face.

The boy looked a bit shocked to have her talking to him, but quickly turned his head away. "No. We have to be moving."

He began to make a movement for the woman in front of him to whip the beast again, but Aunt Wu quickly spoke out again. "Are you sure? Don't want to know your love life? A nice Earth Kingdom girl for you perhaps?"

Suddenly, Iroh realized that Zuko was not the one being spoken to. He looked to Aunt Wu with amazement and shock and was still staring after her even as the shirshu began to carry them away, back into the woods.

Months later, as he saw Zuko sharing an intense moment with a young Earth Kingdom healer, he thought maybe, that even if he couldn't have his love with a girl with brown hair and green eyes, his nephew could.

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Yup. :)

Still taking requests. As long as it isn't Zutara or Kataang, I'll do it. I want to do something different; unique. And no slash, please. I'm horrible at that and would probably just butcher it.