Erythema ab igne

Chapter 3

Zuko couldn't understand these Waters Tribesmen - they made no sense. After he was captured, he expected them to start torturing him for information; it was what the Earth Nation had done after the fall of the 41st, before they were completely annihilated by the Fire Nation that had come up from behind. It hadn't been long that Zuko had been a prisoner, but it had been long enough to experience the creativity of cruel men.

Whatever comes, comes. Whatever comes, comes.

He closed his eyes trying to contain his anxiety but it kept bubbling up no matter how he tried to stomp it down. What were they going to do? The earth benders had slowly crushed limbs and people in stone as torture.. So would the Water Tribe drown him? Zuko hoped not; it was not a pleasant way to go. He swallowed hard and tried not to think. Uncle had taught him how to meditate once, but he couldn't seem to calm his mind.

Whatever comes, comes. Only today exists. Not yesterday. Not tomorrow. Only today, so whatever comes will come.

That man was the leader. He could tell how the others quietly deferred to him; he saw it in the trust in his people's eyes and how they would turn slightly to hear him talk no matter the situation.

But people in a position of power were dangerous.

His father, the generals, the lieutenants - they were all dangerous. They all exerted their power over those below them, and they took no responsibility for the suffering and deaths they caused. It was why even after the disastrous end of the 41st, Zuko still fought in the Fire Nation army. Maybe, just maybe he could try and protect his people from the front lines and from those in power, but he didn't have enough skill and ability to even do that. The 41st were all dead. He'd failed, and now he was a prisoner. So useless. (His father had been right after all.)

This man was no different. He spoke pretty words, sure, but they were only words. Still, he hadn't lied - not yet anyway. True to his words, Zuko had remained unharmed, though it was probably a new tactic - make them seem like allies to get information, but when they finally realized he didn't know anything and when they realized he would be of no use to them, he was sure their attitudes would change. Hopefully it would be a quick death. He didn't want it to be drawn out like he had heard the Earth Nation would do to its prisoners, and hopefully they wouldn't drown him - it was a slow and painful way to die. Better to take a knife or sword to a vital spot.

The anxiety kept gnawing at him. They kept bringing food but he couldn't eat. It was making him nauseous. He knew he should eat and keep his strength up for whatever the future might hold but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. What was the point? There was no one left to protect and anyway.. He was a dead man walking, wasn't he? It didn't help that his ever changing guard stared at him with varying amounts of anger and disgust. (There were a few with another emotion Zuko couldn't and didn't want to understand.)

The days were ever repeating and he started to lose track. Someone would bring food. Guards would change. Their Chief would try to get more information out of him. The same thing over and over, except that ever since he was reminded of why he could never return home, he started dreaming about his last day as a Prince.. well the last day the Prince was alive anyway.

"Father, please. I only-" He'd thought he would forgive him his trespasses - the hand that reached out seemed so tender before it cupped his face in hot flames.

Zuko had no doubt his father would have killed him had his uncle not stepped in, and it was better and easier to play into the rumors that the Prince was dead. Yes, it was better. Who knows what else his father would have done to clear the path for Azula. He was a fool to think his father ever cared for him. After all, he was only an obstacle to be eliminated - a stain on the Fire Nation royal line to be removed.

Even now, three years from the disastrous Agni Kai, he could feel the pain lancing up and down his face, and sometimes it still felt like it was on fire - a reminder to be wary of those in power, which was why he regretted even more letting his real name slip.

~..~..~..~..~..~

It was dinner and Hakoda was face to face with the Fire Nation kid - Zuko, he recalled again. The kid was staring off to the side in between him and Bato who had insisted that he needed to be there for the interrogations henceforth. This time, instead of the floor, they were actually utilizing the table in the meeting room, but the food still sat between the two, uneaten, and from what Hakoda had heard, since the kid's capture, he hadn't eaten a thing. Maybe he thought the food was poisoned or something? Hakoda wasn't sure, but the ribs he had seen in the healer's room had bothered him. It made his stomach twist in worry - he hoped Katara and Sokka were eating enough. He hadn't had word from the Tribe in awhile.

"The food - it's not poisoned, you know."

The kid's fingers were slowly tapping on the table and then was quickening with some inner agitation; he made no movement towards the food. The kid hadn't said anything since being seen by the healer and declaring that the Fire Nation Prince was dead… which, now that Hakoda had thought about it, he did recall hearing something about that at one of the Earth Nation ports they'd been at. It had been so long ago though… Hadn't the Prince been young? And, there was something else… Hakoda couldn't remember.

"What happened to the Prince?"

Zuko frowned and looked at him; his expression unreadable in part due to his scar. Should a kid have dark circles? "What do you mean?"

"You said he was dead..?" Hakoda shook his head. "It was a long while ago. I never heard the full story."

"Officially, he died a coward."

"Unofficially?"

The kid snorted in response. "He died a fool." There was a moment of silence before the kid continued and his eyes seemed to unfocus just a bit. "He… He went to the Fire Lord's - his father's - war room. There was a general who wanted to use a division of new recruits as bait and the Prince didn't agree. He spoke up, but…" He shrugged. "He was punished for his impudence. They say he died fighting with that division… I heard the Fire Lord wanted him out of the way so he could name the Princess as next in line."

There was more silence as Hakoda absorbed the story. "You know," the kid started again, softly. "He was 13." His eyes focused sharply on Hakoda. "Which is why I really don't understand why I'm still alive. The Fire Nation had one of their own Princes killed because he was in the way and because he spoke up, and yet you…? The Fire Nation would have killed your children. In fact, they killed your soldier's son. So just what are you waiting for?" His hands closed into fists and were shaking.

"Are you trying to die?" Tui and La, this child had to be testing him, surely?

"No; I'm just being logical."

"We don't hurt children, even if they are Fire Nation brats like you." Hakoda crossed his arms, trying to quell the temptation to smack some reason into the boy. How was he not understanding this?

"You say that, but it's not like it's stopped anyone before," the kid grumbled. He crossed his own arms and looked away with his scar facing them. The next part was barely a whisper. "Certainly didn't stop my father.."

A glance at Bato confirmed that he had not imagined the words. Damn. He really wished it wasn't true. He swallowed hard and once again tamped down on the urge to explode. He wanted to scream and demand what in Tui was wrong with his father and the whole Fire Nation. Well, it did explain why he wouldn't take Hakoda's words for any comfort. If his own father would lay a hand on him, how was he to believe an enemy?

He ground his teeth for a moment in irritation and contemplated asking for his father's name; he would teach the bastard what it meant to be a father. There was a hand on his shoulder and he looked up in surprise at Bato. 'Calm down,' his eyes seemed to say. Hakoda hadn't realized it, but he had been shaking in rage. He took a deep breath.

Then abruptly walked out.

~..~..~..~..~..~

Sorry for disappearing. Work has been horrible and I lost my muse as a result. I've been trying to recover, but alas. So it's been really hard to write this and it's the reason this chapter is so much shorter than the others. I'm honestly not sure where I'm going with this story now. I have a thought as to how I want it to end, but I'm not sure how to get there so I guess we'll see if I can continue this. I'm really sorry, but I'm just so tired.