the wonderfully polite request for another chapter helped me find the time to get this done today

just so you know, reviews totally inspire me to write *eyebrow waggle*

enjoy~ c:

Chapter Two:

My name is Zuko

She couldn't see much through the golden tinted light that shone through...through...where was she exactly?

A shadow crossed over the light and she jerked slightly, watching with wide eyes as what appeared to be a giant hand floated over her golden sky.

Was it a sky?

She reached forward, brushing a talon against the hard golden surface. No, it wasn't a-

Wait a minute…

Talon?

She stared down at herself, at her limbs, which ended in tiny sharp talons, and her body which was long and curled and golden. At least, it seemed golden from the light. And were those wings?

But that isn't…I should have hands and fingers and toes...right?

Though even as that thought crossed her mind she shook it off in confusion. Why would she have those?

Before she could think longer on the matter, everything shifted outside of her...egg. Yes, egg seemed right. And she was plunged into darkness.

A chill ran through her body and immediately she wanted to go back to the warm light. She tried to turn and twist her body, in hope that whoever it was she had seen, would notice and take her back to that light.

But even the slightest twist to her body sent a wave of exhaustion through her, and she settled down, staring around at the darkness that cradled her once more. But this time, it was less like being held, and more like she was suffocating.

.

Zuko frowned down at the large lump in the saddlebag he had strapped to the ostrich-horse.

He had felt the jolt from the egg-stone when he first touched it. It couldn't have been just his imagination, right?

He scowled, untying the reins from the tree and pulling himself back onto the steed. He was hungry and tired and hot and trying to puzzle over the egg-stone wasn't helping.

With a flick of the reins he maneuvered the animal on, the sun seeming to batter down on him all the more, now that his thoughts were filled with something new.

His attention was captured by a suspicious looking bridge ahead of them and he gritted his teeth, not liking the way it creaked and swaying when the stepped onto it.

There was a loud cracking sound and the ostrich-horse nearly fell as it's leg broke through one of the wooden planks. With a startled cry, he somehow managed to get the animal out of the hole and continued more carefully to the other side.

Even with the straw hat that protected him from most of the sun's rays, he felt his vision start to blur and sway. He jerked himself up, shaking his head to try to dispel the fatigue.

For a moment, an image of his mother flashed through his mind, and he shook his head again in confusion.

As he reached the crest of a hill in the yellow grasses, he noticed a little Earth Kingdom town down below and headed toward it.

He followed a little dirt trail into the town, ignoring the looks he received from several men in uniforms as he passed them.

The whole place seemed nearly empty an entirely unfriendly, but he needed supplies.

His eyes fell on a small shop and he stopped, sliding off the ostrich-horse and stepped up to the counter. "Can I get some water, a bag of feed, and something hot to eat?" He asked the man, placing several silver coins down.

"That's not enough for a hot meal. I can get ya water and two bags of feed." The man offered, and Zuko's mind flashed back to the golden stone-egg in the saddlebag. With that he could probably get enough hot meals for an entire army. But at the idea an ugly feeling twisted in his gut and he sighed, nodding to the man as he slipped into the store to get the feed and water.

A scuffling noise drew his attention to two dirty little boys as they crept up beside the counter and threw an egg into the group of uniformed men before turning and sprinting away.

"Hey!" One of the men called out, but they didn't seem to notice the two boys as they walked up behind Zuko. "You throwin' eggs at us, stranger?"

"No." He said simply, his eyes still trained on the shop.

The man narrowed his eyes. "You see who did throw it?"

"No." Zuko turned to face them then, his hand moving unconsciously to grip the sword handle at his waist.

"That your favorite word? No?" One of the men sneered.

"Egg had to come from somewhere." The leader growled.

"Maybe a chicken flew over." Zuko suggested, turning back around.

One of the men laughed, but the leader silenced him with a glare. The shopkeeper came back out with his bags of feed, but the leader of the uniformed men grabbed them, tossing them to the other men. "Thanks for your contribution. The army appreciates your support. You better leave town. The penalty for staying is a lot steeper than you can afford, stranger."

Zuko watched with narrowed eyes as they left, fingers itching with the temptation to chase them down.

"Those soldiers are supposed to protect us from the Fire Nation," the shopkeeper sighed, "but they're just a bunch of thugs."

Zuko turned away, and was about to mount his ostrich-horse again when the little boy from earlier who had thrown the egg popped up on the other side of the creature.

"Thanks for not ratting me out." He said with a smile, showing off his crooked front teeth.

Zuko said nothing as he mounted and began to ride away. The boy watched him with a frown, then smiled as he ran in front of him and took the reins in his hand.

"I'll take you home and feed your ostrich-horse for you." He offered. "C'mon. I owe you." He lead them down the street.

As they neared the boy's house, the penned pigs along the dirt track began making a racket, and the boy looked up at him with a grin. "No one can ever sneak up on us."

"No kidding." Zuko replied as he hopped off his steed and the boy took it toward the stabes. A tall man in Earth Kingdom garb walked up to Zuko.

"You a friend of Lee's?" He asked, and Lee bounded out of the stable towards his father.

"This guy just stood up to the soldiers!" He exclaimed, grinning. "By the end, he practically had them running away!"

"Does this guy have a name?" A kind voice asked, and a women came up to them, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel.

"I'm...uh..." He hesitated. He should have thought this would happen. He couldn't just spout out he was Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. Though luckily he was saved by Lee's father.

"He doesn't have to say who he is if he doesn't want to, Ceila." He said to the woman, who must have been his wife. "Anyone who can stand his own against those bully soldiers is welcome here. Those men should be ashamed to wear Earth Kingdom uniforms."

"The real soldiers are off fighting the war." Ceila said quietly. "Like Lee's big brother, Sen Su." She let out a sigh before looking up at Zuko with a kind smile. "Supper's going to be ready soon. Would you like to stay?"

Zuko stiffened, his desire for food and the urge to keep moving battled each other in his mind. As much as he wanted to, he could just eat their food and leave. He looked away. "I can't. I should be moving on."

Ceila watching him with knowing eyes. "Gonju could use some help on the barn. Why don't you two work for awhile, and then we'll eat."

He sighed inwardly before giving her a hesitant nod and following Gonju onto the roof of the stable. He tried hammering thatched shingles on, but after several bent nails it was obvious he didn't know what he was doing.

"You don't see, like you're from around here," Lee commented, watching him from the ladder.

"Mhm." Zuko affirmed, shaking his head.

"Where are you from then?"

"Far away."

"Ohh, where are you going?" Lee persisted.

Zuko glanced at him, not sure what to say before Lee's father answered for him. "Lee. Give it a rest. Stop asking the man personal questions."

The boy sighed. "Okay." He was silent for a moment, then asked, "So how'd you get that scar?"

With a jerk, Zuko accidentally slammed the hammer into his thumb and he growled.

Gonju stopped working to give his son a hard look. "It's not nice to bother people about things they

might not want to talk about. A man's past is his business." He turned back to the roof then and started hammering again. Zuko began again as well, silently thanking the man as a memory bubbled up from his subconscious, and he let himself be sucked into it.

.

She didn't like the dark.

There was a niggling sensation that told her she feared it, but she didn't know why she should fear something that couldn't hurt her.

She just didn't like it was all. It was cold and unmoving, and it stretched out endlessly before her, or it seemed to, until she reached out a talon and poked the wall of her egg.

Where were the hands that had woken her; that had brought her into the light? Did they abandon her? Was she left forgotten somewhere? Hidden away from the warmth forever?

A cold, uneasy feeling wormed its way through her body and curled around her heart, squeezing tightly until it just about burst.

Just then she felt her egg move, and she opened her eyes, staring into the darkness. Were the hands back? Would she see the light again?

A dim glow surrounded her, not as bright or golden as before, but it was still warm.

She wriggled happily, craning her neck as much as she could in the small space. The egg seemed to grow smaller as time went on, but maybe that was just her imagination.

But that didn't matter right now, because the light was back!

At her movement, the egg jerked, and she blinked in surprise as a weightless sensation passed through her before she was jolted again. What was that?

She squinted through the dim golden-orange glow, finding the outline of the same hands that had held her egg earlier.

Did the hands drop her egg? That was a little rude. But they caught her again, so it was okay.

She shuddered as her egg was hastily shoved into something, and the light disappeared. Once more leaving her in the suffocating darkness.

.

Zuko's eyes slid open, adjusting to the darkness of the barn Lee's parents had allowed him to sleep in. The movement that had woken him drew his eyes to the small figure that slipped out of the barn.

The prince looked over at his saddlebag, still bulging from the egg still inside it, and his thoughts returned to earlier that afternoon when he had brought out the egg when he was finally alone and it had jerked in his hands. He frowned lightly, did that mean it was an egg? He hadn't seen any eggs that size let alone color.

Then he noticed his Dao swords were missing, he quickly stood and followed after the small form from earlier.

The night glowed from the light of the moon as he stepped outside, illuminating Lee as the young boy hurried to the field of sunflowers, and Zuko followed him slowly, watching in amusement as the boy swung the swords choppily at the flowers.

"You're holding them all wrong." He commented mildly as the boy stabbed then into a dead tree trunk.

Lee fell over in surprise before getting to his feet, his face glowing with guilt as he handed the swords back to Zuko, the sunflower blossom on his head dipping as he hung his head.

"Keep in mind these are duel swords," he instucted, lifting the in front of his face. "Two halves of a single weapon." With a graceful form he spun the swords around him. "Don't think of them as separate, because they're not. Just two different parts of the same whole."

He handed them back to Lee, who followed his movements and attacked the tree once more, sending a dead branch flying into the night.

Zuko gave him a nod and a small smile, and Lee laughed as they walked back to the barn.

"I think you'd really like my brother, Sen Su," Lee said. "He used to show me stuff like this all the time."

.

In the morning, Zuko tied the saddlebag onto his ostrich-horse and mounted it.

"Here." Celia said, handing him a container. "This ought to get you through a few meals."

The pigs started making a racket and they all looked towards the dirt path that led into the farm, where they saw a group of men riding in on ostrich-horseback.

"What d'you think they want?" Gonju asked roughly, crossing his thick arms.

"Trouble." Zuko answered, his voice hard as he glared at the men.

As they drew closer, he recognized the same group of soldiers who had given him trouble when he first came to the town.

"What do you want?" Gonju demanded as the stopped in front of them.

"Just thought someone ought to tell you your son's battalion got captured." The leader said, grinning at the other men. "You boys hear about what the Fire Nation did with their last group of Earth Kingdom prisoners?"

"Dressed 'em up in Fire Nation uniforms and put 'em on the front line unarmed, way I heard it." One said, spitting into the dirt. "Then they just watched."

"You watch your mouth!" Gonju growled, his fists clenching at his sides.

The leader's face hardened and he moved forward on his ostrich-horse, but Zuko rode between him and Gonju, blocking his path.

They stared each other down for a moment before the leader finally growled, "Why bother rooting around in the mud with these pigs," he turned his ostrich-horse and the group followed him as they left the farm in a cloud of dust.

A sudden memory came to the front of his mind, of a servant bringing a small scroll to their mother, who told them with a tearful face that Iroh had lost his son, that Lu Ten had not survived the battle.

He gripped his reins tighter in his hands as Gonju and Ceila embraced, Lee watching after the men with burning eyes.

"What's going to happen to my brother?" The boy asked finally asked.

"I'm going to the front. I'm going to find Sen Su and bring him back." His father said firmly, holding a weeping Ceila in his arms as they walked back to the house.

Lee turned to Zuko. "When my dad goes, will you stay?"

"No," Zuko said, "I need to move on." He reached inside his bag, careful not to reveal the golden egg, for that would raise more uncomfortable questions, and pulled out a familiar sheathed knife. He handed it to the boy. "Here. I want you to have this. Read the inscription."

Lee pulled the knife out of the sheath, staring at it with wide eyes. "Made in the Earth Kingdom."

"The other one." He said wearily.

"Never give up without a fight." He read, and when he looked up, Zuko was riding away.

.

"Azula always lies," The prince murmured, staring up at the clear sky from where he laid on the yellow grass, his ostrich-horse drinking out of a small stream.

He looked down at the bulging pack and his fingers itched to open it and pull out the golden egg and inspect it. He still hadn't figured out what kind of creature it could have belonged to. None of the animals he knew of were golden and could lay giant eggs.

He let out a tired sigh, but the sounds of an approaching wagon made him sit up. Recognizing Ceila from the farm he stood as she ran over to him.

"You have to help," she panted, out of breath." It's Lee. The men from town came back as soon as Gonju 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." Her voice broke. "They told me if he's olf enough to fight, he's old enough to join the army!" She buried her face in her hands. "I know we barely know you, but..."

"I'll get your son back," Zuko said, his voice hard, and Ceila dropped her hands to look at his with tearful eyes. His golden eyes flashed, and his hands closed into fists with his resolve.

.

Zuko rode into town on his ostrich-horse, and Lee looked up from his place toed to a post.

"Hey, there he is! I told you he'd come!" He exclaimed, his eyes shining. The soldiers stood a Zuko dropped to the ground and took off his straw hat, placing it over the pack on the animal's back.

"Let the kid go," Zuko said, eying the men that lined up in front of Lee.

The leader laughed. "Who do you think you are?"

Zuko's eyes narrowed, his hands clenching at his side. "It doesn't matter who I am," he replied in a hard voice. "But I know who you are. You're not soldiers. You're bullies. Freeloaders abusing you 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."

"Are you gonna let this stranger stand there and insult you like this?" The leader demanded of the men, and one of them came forward. Zuko knocked him down, sending him sprawling in the dirt without even drawing his swords.

His eyes shot up, waiting for another soldier to run at him.

.

Something was wrong. Something didn't feel right. But she didn't know what it was and she snapped her jaws together in frustration as the uneasy sensation nagged at her.

She knew there was something happening outside of her egg. Something that made her scales itch and crawl.

Were the hands in trouble? Was her egg in trouble?

With the darkness clouding everything she had no clue, no hint to help her guess at what was going on.

She scraped uselessly against the wall of her egg with her talons, but couldn't do much more than squeeze her eyes shut and wait out the gut-wrenching feeling of helplessness that thrummed through her veins.

.

Zuko stood tall, staring down the leader after all the other soldier ran away.

The leader drew two hammers at his belt and held them aloft. The man spun and directed an earthbending attack at the prince with the hammers, pounding the ground with his feet to bring up blocks of earth, and sending them flying at Zuko with powerful swings of his hammers.

Zuko blocked the first few attacks with his swords, but the next one got throw and slammed him in the gut. He grunted, staying on his feet as he straightened and ran towards the man.

"Give 'im a left! Left!" An old man called from the crowd on onlookers.

"It's not a fistfight," his wife said, elbowing him.

"He's got a left sword don't he?"

A rock blasted through Zuko's defenses and he was thrown to the ground.

"Look out!" Lee called as the leader advanced towards Zuko, but the leader had the upper hand, and he slammed both of his hammers on the ground, sending a jut of earth under Zuko, who was thrown backwards in the dust to land hard on his back.

.

"Mom?" the young prince mumbled tiredly as a gentle hand touched his shoulder. He rolled over in bed to see his mother leaning over him in the dim light of his bedroom.

"Please, my love, listen to me," she said, pulling him into a sitting position. "Everything I've done, I've done to protect you." She drew him into a hug, holding him close in her arms. Though footsteps sounded in the hall, and she moved back, cupping his face in her hands. "Remember this, Zuko. No matter how things seem to change, never forget who you are."

Droopy eyes watched as she stepped away from his bed and turned toward the open door that led out into a dark hallway. The last he saw of her was a black hood being drawn up over her beautiful, but saddened face, and then she was gone.

.

Zuko came back to his senses lying face up in the dirt as the leader walked up to him.

"Get up" Lee urged, tugging against the ropes that kept him tied to the pole.

Zuko's eyes twitched and his hands went for his swords.

The prince whirled up with a roar, fire twisted around him, throwing the soldier backwards. Zuko stood in the crackling flames, watching as the soldier got to his feet before he attacked again, sending the man into a wall, his own rocks falling down on him.

"Who...who are you?" The soldier gasped, too scared to try to get to his feet again as he stared up into the prince, who's flames flickered wildly around him .

"My name is Zuko," he announced. "Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai." The died out, leaving his swords smoking as he slid them back into their sheath. "Prince of the Fire Nation and heir to the throne."

"Liar!" A man shouted in the crowd. "I've heard of you! You're not a prince, you're an outcast! His own father disowned him!"

Zuko ignored his taunting words as he stepped closer to the soldier who had once stood tall and sneered down at him, who now cowered up at him from the ground. He retrieved the knife from the man before turning and approaching Lee.

Ceila ran out in front of him, hiding her son behind her back as she glared at Zuko. "Not a step closer," she said, her face hard.

Zuko knelt on the ground before them, holding out the knife. "It's yours," he said to the boy." You should keep it."

"No! I hate you!" The boy cried, glaring at him with what seemed to be all the hatred in the world and turned his back on Zuko, allowing his mother to lead him away by his hand.

.

He remembered running through the palace halls, frantically searching for his mother. Running into Azula, who lied to him like always, and then his father, who ignored him like always.

He remembered the funeral, the flames that licked at Fire Lord Azulon's casket.

He remembered the smug smile on Azula's face as their father was named Fire Lord.

.

Zuko mounted his ostrich-horse, riding out of the town, feeling the angry glares of Lee and Ceila and the villagers on his back. He placed the straw hat back on his head as the sun dipped lower on the horizon. There was an ache in his chest, one that faded the further he got from the dirty little town. His eyes flicked up to the darkening sky, remembering his mother's parting words.

No, he wouldn't forget who he was. Never again.

He was Zuko, Prince of the Fire Nation, and nothing was ever going to change that.

wooh! that stretched out longer than i expected, haha

thanks for reading~! ^-^