Chap. 8

Pride and Kingship

"Uncle, enough!" Zuko yelled, as Iroh dragged him into the room. The former general seemed to agree, as he roughly released his grip on the boy's collar. Zuko was spun around, and then regained his footing. "How could you humiliate me like that?" Zuko cried out, as he faced his uncle. "You treated me like I was a child!"

"What did you think you were acting like?" Iroh yelled back. At that, Zuko actually stopped and pulled back. He had seen his uncle in many states; contentment, happiness, stern, battle-ready. But he had never seen Iroh angry like this, at least not at him.

"How can you continue to act like this Zuko?" Iroh continued. "It is hard enough that we must now earn the trust of former enemies, but you had to dishonor yourself before the Elemental Knights? They are the chosen of the Gods, Zuko! They have power that no man could ever hope to wield or understand. And they are completely willing to humble themselves for the good of others! They are willing to work hard, no matter the task! But not you, you have to cling to your arrogant pride! The Forester was right Zuko, you are not the crown prince of the Fire Nation anymore. You are no better then the children in that room! You are a peasant now, and if you ever want that to change, you must throw away this pride before it consumes you!"

"U-Uncle, I-I am sorry." Zuko sputtered. "I-I didn't mean to show disrespect. It's just, well, being the prince, even in memory, is all I have to hold on to."

Iroh sighed then, and said, "I understand Zuko. It's just that…… when get like this, you remind me of your father."

"I do?"

"Ozai never wanted to demean himself either. He saw work like chopping wood as peasant tasks, not worthy of his royal talents. He was the same way with his conquests when we were younger. He would send out ships or troops to weaken the enemy, then come in and finish them when they were in their death-throes. He would divide up the spoils, leaving himself the best of whatever they had to offer; gold, jewels, supplies, women, it was all for Ozai."

"Father truly did this? How could he act so dishonorably?" Zuko asked in horror.

"It was his right as royalty. But it always disgusted your grandfather and myself. That is why when I went to Ba Sing Se, Father was proud that I always led the charges when I needed to do, and divided up the spoils honorably with the men. And by doing that Zuko, as well helping out in all the other necessary tasks of the camp, I learned the value of humility. That is what makes a king great, Zuko; understanding that he is not above the people, but one of them, and that his task is to better them and his country, not himself."

"But I can I learn from this, Uncle?" Zuko asked in frustration. "I have no claim to the throne now. The Avatar cannot help me regain that, nor would he now."

But Iroh only chuckled and said, "Zuko, do you not realize the chance we gain by joining forces?" Seeing his nephew's puzzled expression, Iroh explained. "The Avatar's mission is to restore balance to the world. Therefore, he cannot destroy the Fire Nation; doing so would be a greater blow then the loss of the Airbenders. But he does need to redeem it, and the only way he can do that is to dethrone your father. If he does that Zuko, who will rule? Other then you, Azula is the only choice in the bloodline, and if she took the throne, she would keep the war going until the Fire Nation was spent of all it's resources, and all it's glory gone. But you Zuko, you are the first-born son. You are the rightful heir, banished or not, and you have more claim to the throne then Azula ever could. The Avatar is your chance to regain what you have lost Zuko. He is your chance to regain your honor and your throne."

Zuko's eyes widened, as the truth of Iroh's words sunk in. Ozai would have to leave the throne, and the Avatar would never leave it to Azula, not if he ever wanted the war to end. For the first time in years, Zuko saw hope that everything could be returned to him, not through a fool's quest, but through honor and glory. But Zuko knew he was his father's son, and he could not be the Fire Lord Ozai was. No, he had to learn the things that his father never did, the things that he threw away because of pride….

"I think I have wood to chop Uncle." Zuko said quietly, as he moved his way to the door. As Iroh watched, Zuko entered the room, where the others were waiting. As Zuko entered the room, they all rose, most with angry faces. Yet Zuko faced them all, and said, in a voice swimming in humility, "I…. Apologize. I had no right to ignore my duties, or to dispute your wise choices. You have offered your hospitality to me and I foolishly threw aside my chance to return it. I promise, I will do all I can to help."

"And?" Aang added, still angry from their argument.

"And I was wrong to call your bison stupid. He's been invaluable to you and I will do the best I can to help you find him."

"I'm glad to hear that Zuko." Hierro said. "And if you really want to help, I know something you can do to help." With that, Hierro held out one of his hands, and as Zuko watched, it suddenly grew and changed into a short handled axe. Grasping it in another hand, the spider snapped it off, and tossed it to Zuko. The prince caught it, and then watched as a new hand grew out of the stump.

"Bosque is waiting outside." Hierro said.

"Right." Zuko said, as he looked down at the axe with a strange wonder. Shaking his head, the former prince headed out the back door and into the back yard.

As the door shut behind him, Zuko saw the fugure of Bosque, chopping away at a log. The squirrel, who had shed his cape and tunic in the heat, would take a log, place it on a large stump in the middle of the yard, then bring his axe down, splitting it into two pieces. Seeing the axe, Zuko remembered his uncle's words; the axe was a beautiful weapon, decorated with carvings of leaves and branches, with a long curving head. Yet Bosque was using for something as simple as splitting wood. Zuko watched for a few moments, admiring the axe as well as studying the process since he had never done it before. But after a minute, Bosque said, "You gonna help, or you gonna stand there all day?"

"Oh right." Zuko muttered, as he moved over to the woodpile and took a large log. Of course, then he turned and realized he had no place to cut the wood. But a second later, a large stump suddenly grew out of the ground right next to him. Turning to see it, Zuko said, "Thanks. And I'm sorry."

"Thank me by getting the job done. Goes for the apology too." Bosque said, as he took another log from the pile. Zuko placed his log on the stump, and watched as Bosque placed his down. The two drew up their axes in unison, and then both slammed them down, as four pieces of wood dropped.

"Not bad, for a prince." Bosque said, as Zuko looked over his handiwork. Zuko simply nodded and took two pieces of wood from the pile. Tossing one to Bosque, he placed his down on the stump, and then the two of them brought their axes down in unison once again. As they continued to repeat the process, Iroh watched from the house, a smile on his face at his nephew's progress.