"WHAT DO YOU MEAN CHIYO'S MISSING?!" Suiren slapped and screamed at the captain who had made port less than half an hour ago and went straight to the palace to inform them of the unfortunate accident in the seas.
"T-T-There was a storm, my L-lady... A-and she tried to save a member of my crew—"
"Then you should've locked her below deck where she would have been SAFE!" Tears were streaming down her face as she clutched the captain by the collar with both hands. "Her safety should have been your priority, captain!" She spat the title as if it was an insult.
"Now, now, Lady Suiren." The Fire Lord had gone out of the throne room followed by his generals, council and advisers; their war meeting had finished early. "What seems to be the problem?"
The stuttering captain went on his knees and bowed to the Fire Lord. "M-My lord! The vessel we took to bring the Lady Chiyo home was caught in the worst storm I have seen in all my years! Oh, it was dreadful, y-your Highness! A-and the Lady Chiyo... she... she was swept overboard while trying to save a member of my crew... W-we were in the middle of the high seas! We don't even know if she's—"
Suiren pulled out a dagger that she hid in a strap attached to her leg and pointed it at the captain. "Say one more word and I will end you, you miserable old fool!"
The Fire Lord gently held the hand holding the dagger and took the weapon out of her hand. "Be careful my lady... We wouldn't want to get your beautiful hands tainted with his dirty blood."
"Oh don't flatter me, Ozai!" Suiren was clearly distraught, having dropped the Fire Lord's title in front of his subjects. The Fire Lord signaled the guards to take the captain in an isolated cell for interrogation later. He also told the councilmen to take their leave, to which they obliged with a deep bow to their monarch.
"Shall we move this to my quarters?"
"NO!" Suiren broke free from his grasp. "I need to find my child! I need to find Chiyo!"
"We will, but you need to calm down, woman!" Ozai held Suiren's arms in a tight grip and he looked deep into the honey colored eyes he had fallen in love with in his youth. Even now, in her crazed state, she was heartrendingly beautiful.
And she was his. All his.
"Please, use your men. Use all that is in your power to find Chiyo..." Suiren said, barely above a whisper. The Fire Lord never quite understood his concubine's obsession with her apprentice. But he will indulge her. If it meant he had her heart in his hands, he will indulge her every whim.
"Of course, my Lady..."
"So, you don't know your name?" Yona sat on a stool with her arms crossed. It looked like she was an inquisitor interrogating the young woman. The latter shook her head sadly. "Or where you live?" She shook her head no again. "Or who your parents are?"
"Yona!" The mother chastised the child! "If you keep that up, her head wound might re-open!"
The child ignored her mother and pushed herself off the stool to take a closer look at the woman. "Do you know how to bend?" The woman tilted her head in confusion. "You know! Whoosh whoosh earth, air, water, fiiiiire!" The child tried to demonstrate with a couple of punches, but still the woman shook her head.
"I don't think bending requires a 'whoosh whoosh' Yona." Her older brother Kai had come back home and set down some firewood near the kitchen. His smile reached his emerald eyes as he laughed at his little sister. "So did you get anything from the Miss over there?"
"I don't even think she knows how to talk!" The child turned to the woman. "Can you talk?"
She cleared her throat, an action which caused a slight pain that made her wince. "H...H...He-llo..." she managed with a raspy voice.
"You can talk!" The child said excitedly and jumped on the bed. "Can you say my name? I'm Yona! Yo...na! Repeat after me! Yo...na."
"Y-yo...na..."
She clapped her hands as if it was a huge accomplishment. "And this is my brother, Kai. "Ka...yi... but you gotta say it fast. Ka...yi!"
"Ka-yi."
"Now those are our names! What's yours?"
The woman frowned, still trying to think of her name. Why can't she remember it? Why can't she remember anything?
"Since you can't remember yours, how about I give you a name? I always wanted a sister! It sure beats having a stinky older brother!"
"Hey, I take a bath twice as much as you do, Yona!" Kai countered as she approached the girls. "So what would you name her?"
The child thought for a while, trying to look for hints on the woman. She went through the dirtied kimono she wore when they found her, looking for something, anything.
The woman tucked her matted hair back behind her ear. Something shiny caught Kai's eye and he stepped closer, taking the woman's hand in his own warm, calloused hands, and examining the rings she had on. Each finger had a thin, plain silver band except for her index finger which had a ring carved from amber resin. Inside the resin was a single petal.
"A fire lily..."
"I got it!" The child looked into the woman's eyes. "From now on, your name is Lily!"
He had run out of food and water. His ostrich-horse was staggering from heat and exhaustion. In his delirium, he saw visions of his mother as she pulled the cloak over her head and left him. And just as he was about to give in, he saw a small village from afar.
Upon arrival, he looked around at the worn out houses, at the villagers, at the gambling bandits on the side of the road. He realized then that poverty really was rampant. He got off his ostrich horse and approached a store. "Could I get some water, a bag of feed, and something hot to eat?" He opened up his palm to show the last two coins he had.
"Not enough here for a hot meal. I can get you two bags of feed."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw two young kids with a wicked smile plastered on their faces. The older one, grabbed an egg and pulled his arm back, then flung it across the road, straight at one of the gambling thug's head.
"OW!" the group turned around, but all they could see was the suspicious stranger buying his supplies from the store. "Hey! You throwing eggs at us, stranger?"
"No."
"You see who did throw it?"
"No." Zuko turned around and grabbed the hilt of his sword to show that he was not afraid of the thugs.
"Is that your favorite word? 'No'?"
The leader looked accusingly at Zuko. "It had to come somewhere..."
"Maybe a chicken flew over."
The prince turned away from the thugs to take care of his supplies. But just as he was to get the two sacks of feed, the leader pushed him aside to take the feed. "Thanks for your contribution. The army appreciates your support. You better leave town. Penalty for staying's a lot steeper than you can afford, stranger. Trust me." He patted the war hammer hanging from his belt, threatening the prince.
The shopkeeper sighed. "Those soldiers are supposed to protect us from the Fire Nation. But they're just a bunch of thugs."
Zuko looked at their retreating back with anger and turned to his ostrich horse to go after them. "Thanks for not ratting me out!" The kid popped up from behind his steed, smiling widely at him. Zuko ignored him and got on the ostrich horse to leave. The kid moved to the front and held the reins. "I'll take you to my house and feed your ostrich horse for you!" And before he could refuse, the kid pulled on the reins. "Come on! I owe you!"
The kid lived at the edge of the village, they passed by a pasture filled with all sorts of noisy barn animals, crying out as they passed. "No one can ever sneak up on us!"
"No kidding."
A man approached them, wearing worn out clothes, sprinkled with dirt from working in a farm. "You a friend of Lee's?"
The kid named Lee approached his father. "This guy just stood up to the soldiers!" The kid beamed. "By the end, he practically had them running away!"
"Does this guy have a name?" A woman who seemed to be Lee's mother approached as well.
"I... I ... uhh..." Zuko looked down. If he reveals his name here, in a village that scorns the Fire Nation, he will be killed on the spot.
"He doesn't have to say who he is if he doesn't want to Sela." The man said kindly to Zuko. "Anyone who can hold his own against those bully soldiers is welcome here. Those men should be ashamed to wear Earth Kingdom uniforms."
The woman named Sela looked down at the dirt. "The real soldiers are off fighting the war, like Lee's big brother Sen Su." She smiled kindly as her husband did. "Supper's going to be ready soon. Would you like to stay?"
It had been a few days since he ate a real meal, but tracking down his sister and chasing the Avatar was more important. "I can't. I should be moving on."
"Gan Su could use a help in the barn. Why don't you work for a while, and then we'll eat?"
His stomach grumbled in response as if to tell him to accept the woman's offer. And finally, he nodded in acceptance. They set off to work on the barn roof, hammering nails on the planks.
Now Zuko, being a Crown Prince of the powerful Fire Nation, has never done any sort of labor or chore. It was unthinkable, imagining a prince with a hammer and on the roof. But here he was now, working for his dinner.
"You don't seem like you're from around here..." Lee mused as he watch the man and his father working on the roof. Zuko shook his head. "Where are you from then?"
"Far away..."
"Oh... where are you going?"
"Lee.." Gan Su chastised his child. "Give it a rest. Stop asking the man's personal questions, got it?"
Zuko was relieved at the father's words. At least he understood his predicament. The kid sighed and was quiet for a few seconds before he quipped again. "So how did you get that scar?"
Suprised by his question, Zuko missed the nail he was futilely hammering and hit his thumb instead.
"Lee, it's not nice to bother people about things they might not want to talk about. The man's past is his business."
That night, they had a simple dinner and Zuko was offered rest on the barn. He laid there on the soft hay, and he dreamt of the past. Of his mother, of his father, of Azula and her friends, of Chiyo.
He was woken up from his dreams when he heard a slight rustling and the clink of his swords against it scabbard. He pretended to be a sleep for a few seconds then got up to follow the sound. He followed Lee to a field of sunflowers and watched him as he hacked away using the dual broadswords.
"You're holding them all wrong." Zuko said as he watched the kid. Lee screamed and fell on his back in surprise. He had been so sure he was quiet while he borrowed the swords. Having been caught, he got up and held them out for Zuko to take.
Zuko took them carefully and demonstrated, just how Master Piandao had done. "Keep in mind, these are dual swords. Two halves of a single weapon. Don't think of them as separate because they're not. They're just two different parts of the same whole."
He handed them back to the kid, who took the swords eagerly and proceeded to imitate as Zuko had demonstrated.
For the first time in a long while, Zuko smiled.
One of the skills Suiren has acquired over time was the art of painting. She usually painted landscapes and flowers, but today, she was working tediously on a portrait of her ward, Chiyo. She emphasized the shape of her face, nose and lips, the long, black loose curls, and the distinguishable amber color of her eyes. After hours she spent on the paper, she ran to her handmaiden and ordered her to have copies made and sent out all across the Fire Nation.
She also sent a copy to all Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom. 'The more posters I put out, the faster I'll be able to find her...'
Morning had come and just as Zuko had bid his farewell to the family and was about to leave, the thugs from yesterday came. Gan Su moved to the front to shield his wife and son. "What do you want, Gow?"
"Just thought someone ought to tell you. Your son's battalion got captured." He smirked and turned to his lackeys. "You boys heard what the Fire Nation did with their last group of Earth Kingdom prisoners?"
"Dressed 'em up in Fire Nation uniforms and put them on the front line unarmed, way I heard it." One of them answered with a sneer. "Then they just watched—"
"You watch your mouth!" Gan Su bristled with anger. Gow was about to advance but Zuko blocked him with his ostrich-horse, looking down at the man like the scum of the earth that he is.
"Why bother rooting around in the mud with these pigs?" Gow turned and left.
Sela turned to her husband in tears. Lee looked up at his father. "What's gonna happen to my brother?"
"I'm going to the front." Gan Su declared. "I'm going to find Sen Su and bring him back."
Lee ran to Zuko. "When my dad goes, will you stay?" In all honesty, Lee was afraid of those thugs, but not for himself. He feared for the safety of his mother and father. After all, he was just a kid. How could he defend them?
"No. I need to move on." Zuko reached to his side and pulled out the pearl dagger his uncle had given him. He handed it over to Lee. "Here. I want you to have this. Read the inscription."
Lee pulled out the dagger. "Made in Earth Kindom..."
"The other one."
"Never give up without a fight..."
With the gift and the inscription as his parting words, Zuko left.
As he laid to rest on a meadow near a meandering river, he reminisced of the time when Lu Ten had died in battle, and his father saw this as an opportunity to take the throne of the Fire Lord Azulon. He remembered how Azula approached him and told him that father was going to kill him in exchange for the throne. He had repeated the same thing over and over to himself.
'Azula always lies.'
He got up when he heard the grunts of an ostrich horse, and he saw Sela. "You have to help! It's Lee! The thugs from town came back as soon as Gan Su left! When they ordered us to give them food, Lee pulled a knife on them! I don't even know where he got a knife! Then they took him away... They told me if Lee's old enough to fight..." She hid her tear-stained face in her hands and sobbed. "T-Then he's old enough to join the army... I-I know we barely know you, b-but..."
"I'll get your son back." He had it with those bullies who dare to call themselves soldiers of the Earth Kingdom. With a determined look, he got on his ostrich horse and sped off back to the village.
By afternoon, he had reached the village proper and found Lee tied up on a post in the square. Zuko got off his steed and removed his wide brimmed hat; for the first time fully showing his scar to the people. Gow and his thugs approached him. "Let the kid go." He said with a strained expression.
Gow laughed. "Who do you think you are? Telling us what to do."
"It doesn't matter who I am. But I know who you are. You are not soldiers. You're bullies. Freeloaders abusing your power, mostly over women and kids. You don't want Lee in your army. You're sick cowards messing with a family who's already lost one son to the war." Zuko thought back to his Uncle Iroh who lost Lu Ten. How his father had not only disregarded Iroh's loss, but usurped the title of Crown Prince from him.
Gow turned to one of his men. "Are you gonna let this stranger stand there and insult you like this?" With a nod of understanding, the soldier ran towards Zuko with his long staff and blade.
Already anticipating the attack, Zuko ducked and unsheathed his sword, letting the hilt hit the soldier in the gut and knocking him back a few paces away. The other followed suit and Zuko put his sword back, using only his bare hands to take down the second, and destroying the third's staff with a swift kick. He had them running away in a matter of seconds, and all that was left was Gow.
He took out his war hammers and Zuko mirrored him by taking out his dual broadswords. By now, a crowd had formed in the sidelines, watching someone finally standing up to the thugs.
Gow pounded on the earth, and he used his hammer to throw the rising rocks towards Zuko, who sliced through the rock before it reached him. The prince realized he was fighting an earthbender, making it much more difficult for him. Gow kept going, and Zuko tried to fend off the rocks as much as possible. Once he found his stride, Zuko charged with his swords.
The thug sent more rocks his way and the prince got hit in the gut, making him stagger back, folding over in pain.
"Behind you!" Lee shouted as Gow kept pummelling him with rocks. Having him distracted, he thrust the hammer to the ground, sending a row of sharp jagged rocks towards Zuko, making him fall flat on his back.
All of a sudden, his mother crossed his mind. It was the night that she had left. She had woken him from his sleep and held him close. "No matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are." Those were the last words she had said before pulling the cloak over her head and leaving him forever.
'Never forget who you are.'
Just as Gow was about to deliver the final blow, Zuko clutched his swords tight and spun back up, sending slashes of bright flames towards the thug who dropped his hammers and was sent back, trying to avoid the fire.
Zuko stood among the flames, feeling his anger growing. Anger that he had accumulated for years. And this fight was the catalyst. He will show this lowlife who he really is. Raising his dual broadswords, he spun them as Master Piandao had taught and used his firebending to send waves of fire towards Gow.
The thug shielded himself by raising an earthen shield, but the flames' impact sent him flying back, hitting a wall that collapsed on top of him. "Who..W-Who are you?"
"My name is Zuko." The prince sheathed his dual swords. "Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai. Prince of the Fire Nation and heir to the throne!"
The crowd was silenced by his declaration, until an old man called him out. "Liar! I heard of you! You're not a prince, you're an outcast! His own father burned and disowned him!" The man pointed out at the scar that covered half the left side of Zuko's face.
The prince did not heed it and approached Gow, taking the dagger from his belt and bringing it back to Lee. Sela had untied her son and shielded him from Zuko. "Not a step closer!"
Zuko knelt down and offered the dagger back to Lee. "It's yours, you should have it."
"No! I hate you!" The child looked at Zuko with unshed tears of hate in his eyes. Then he turned around and walked away with his mother.
He did not bother to come after them. He did not even care that they did not thank him for saving their village from those thugs. He only felt anger, and shame. Shame for being who he was. Shame for being a prince of the Fire Nation, shame for being a son to a tyrant.
Zuko got back on his ostrich horse and left the village, not once looking back.
Author's Notes
It's one of the longest chapters I have written, probably (1) because this is Zuko's solo episode, and (2) because it's one of those episodes filled with [Zuko's] hidden emotions and musings. I enjoyed putting it into narration according to my interpretation. Thank you all so much for all the votes and reads for this story! I hope you keep with me till the very end!
-TheGreatestConWoman-