Not the Olympics AU again! (Sorry) It will be back tomorrow, and Zuko and Katara's Olympics story will officially end with Prompt 15! Sorry, guys! Anyway, please enjoy:

8. Prejudice

When Katara first folded over the red swaddling cloth to reveal their child's face, Zuko swore, right then and there, that he would have a happy childhood. His wife often talked of such a childhood during her pregnancy: she had always felt safe and content among the huge extended family known as her tribe. Even though she was the only Waterbender, no one had put any unneeded pressure on her. They always included her in festivals and games, treating her like a daughter. Some tried to even tell her about forms and techniques of past Waterbenders and showed her some basic moves, moving their arms rather clumsily to mimic the moves their old friends and family members had done. They loved her, and Zuko had felt that, certainly, when he visited the Southern Water Tribe.

They had problems right away, though.

Katara had given birth to a son, one who looked Fire Nation...except the bright blue eyes. The Sages swore that the boy would be a Waterbender, so the snobbish members of the nobility dropped hints of trying again for a better one, which made Zuko's blood boil.

Tradition called for naming the child after three days, and that had been a struggle. Ridiculous! Katara and Zuko had finally settled on Roku, a good Fire Nation name, but Zuko bet on his crown that no one had read the secret history of the previous Avatar or knew of his mother's lineage.

Katara, of course, came under fire, so to speak, when she chose to follow her tribe's traditions. She refused the nurse, especially (the noblewomen gasped) the wet nurse. Lady Tailang, trying to be presumably polite to the Fire Lady during a monthly tea, said it wasn't proper for the highest-ranking lady to lower herself to such a...crude, barbaric custom. The ladies had clucked about sagging breasts and basely pointed out her "poor, black and blue" bags under her eyes.

Roku was a well-behaved baby; he hardly ever was fussy (as Ursa claimed Zuko was) and slept soundly at night. Zuko liked to hold him underneath the shade of the tree near the turtleduck pond, admiring his curiosu eyes and wide mouth and small nose. His little hands waved around, trying to catch leaves that were tossed by the humid wind, and his thin fingers curled inward and outward as if testing them out. He gurgled and cooed, which made his father wonder about what he was trying to say. He was already squirmy, his legs fighting against the blankets.

"He's so small," he once marveled.

"Well," Katara had teased him. "He is a baby." But she'd kissed both of them and nuzzled under her husband's arms under the shade of one of the pavilions.

They had one large scare: when an assassin had knocked out the guards with fire whips and had managed to actually get close to Katara while she was holding Roku. Katara was not used to fighting one-handed, trying to shield her child while blocking the fireballs with water from nearby cisterns. Roku, of course, had began to cry loudly in fear. Luckily, one of the guards had managed to wake up in time and burn the assassin's feet, causing him to stumble and giving the Fire Lady enough time to freeze him to the wall.

Zuko tried his best to comfort his wife (with fail) when she tremblingly held Roku, telling her that all Royal Children were always in danger and recalling the time a servant (who had not actually been a servant) had left him poisoned fireflackes at age four. But inwardly, he shuddered in fear and ordered the watch to be doubled. She'd been attacked when she was pregnant, with sharp knives and hidden poisons, but...who would hurt a child?

Katara didn't like it, since the war was over, but as soon as Roku was deemed old enough, Zuko had him training with Piandao with swords. A Prince should never be unprotected.

Roku was enjoying himself very much. He had managed to give his guards the slip, who dogged his every step since he could remember. His mother and father were at a boring meeting with some ambassadors with Aunt Toph. The weather had a pleasant breeze, despite the always scorching heat, and he was especially enjoying the wind while running along the rooftops. He liked making the guards chase him, while they tried their best to be polite (and failed), and tried to clamber up the roofs. He was very good at climbing, which was a useful skill.

His mother was appalled when Captain Jee had first reported it and had glared when his father snickered under his breath. For some reason, he could swear she had shaken her head and muttered "Like father, like son" under her breath, but he'd never gotten why. He'd never seen Father climb before.

He'd slid off the roof and carefully landed on the balls of his feet on the ground. Roku would have cheered, but then his guards would have recognized that and clambered after him. He rolled his eyes and proceeded to sneak back into his room to pretend as if he'd been studying The History of Fire the whole time.

"Hello, Prince Roku."

Roku froze, then turned. He nearly slumped in relief when he saw it wasn't one of his guards, but Admiral Ku.

Father and Mother didn't like the admiral, though, but he never saw much of him. (He didn't really pay a lot of attention at Court functions, and he really wasn't expected to go a lot just yet, since he wasn't yet of age to be officially named Crown Prince and be forced to attend meetings.)

"Afternoon, Admiral Ku." Roku answered politely. He quickly adjusted the crown on his head.

The admiral's face shifted, somehow. "What an interesting trick you did up there."

Roku felt pride swelling up in him. "Thank you, sir."

"Why am I finding the Prince running along the rooftops like a common vigilante?" the smile vanished from his face. "Should he not be practicing his weapons, as a proper heir should?"

"I was...refining my agility." Roku lied. Perhaps the man would tattle to Father now.

The plucked and crooked eyebrows rose. "I see." He stepped forward. "How goes your swordsmanship?"

Roku felt as if he'd eaten a rotten piece of fish and hadn't yet known it, but should. He was involuntarily stepping back. "Very well, I thank you."

"Swordsmanship." The man repeated. He was stroking his chin rather oddly. "Why, back in my day, the heirs were Firebenders. Even the...weakest was."

Something isn't right this. "Well, ah, you never know. I could be." Roku turned as if to go. "I must go to my studies now."

A hand clenched around his shoulder, and Roku quickly slapped it away as a reflex. He whirled around, his shoulder still slightly aching. "What are you doing?"

"Perhaps you aren't a bender." The admiral continued. "Your mother might have put out the Firebending in you."

Roku's eyes narrowed. Now he was figuring out why his parents didn't like that guy so much. "I don't have to be a Firebender."

"Of course." The golden eyes narrowed in return. "Perhaps a Waterbender, with those eyes. Perhaps it's better to not be a bender at all."

"You will not speak about the Fire Lady in such a disrespectful matter!" Now he wished he had his guards. Then he'd...do something. Arrest him? (Could he do that?)

"Half-breed." The man reached out. "You should have died in your mother's womb, with the poisoned spider-snake venom in her barbaric sea prune stew."

Roku spun around and rolled as fire whooshed over his head, then yelled for the guards. The nobleman had lost his cool edge and was tossing flames at him.

If only I had my swords. He was dodging everything now, the trees above him on fire, setting off smoke. That was good. That would make someone come.

He threw himself to the side, then kicked the admiral in the stomach. The man swore and took the opportunity at the close promity to punch a hot hand at his face.

Roku screamed, then fell, waving his arms in an attempt to break it. He felt something like rain droplets and a different scream, then nothing.

"Roku! That bastard..."

"Shh, Zuko, he's waking up."

"I will kill Admiral Ku."

"Roku, Roku, open your eyes."

Roku was able to, and he was embraced by his mother.

"I was able to heal your face. It won't scar," she assured him, then froze. Her husband kissed her forehead, shaking his head, and clasped Roku's face in his hands.

"Captain Jee was able to come, but he found that you had the situation under control. You froze the...man to the ground with water from a nearby fountain."

I'm a Waterbender. This only filled him with a dull ache, no excitement.

His mother was taking over the story. "Jee arrested him, on the charges of trying to...assassinate the prince. He brought you to the hospital wing, and I took care of you. Your father interrogated Ku, but wasn't able to get the story out of him. Can you tell us, sweetheart?"

Roku haltingly explained as his mother gave him small sips of water and ordered some food. When he got to the part of the spider-snake vemon, his father stood up and fire clenched around his fists. "The stew!...Katara, when you were...he confessed it. I wasn't able to...he must have paid off or threatened the cooks...that..."

Roku watched as his mother calmed him down, the fire soon dying from his fists. Your mother might have put out the Firebending in you...

"Roku," his mother knocked on his door. "May I come in?'

"Yes, Mother."

The Fire Lady swept in, crown still in her hair. She sat down next to him on his bed. "What happened today was scary and frightening. Would you like to speak about it to me?"

Roku shook his head.

"I'll tell you something." his mother smoothed his hair. "I was not welcome here. I'm still not. What matters is the people who care about you." She sighed. "I sometimes wish that you were born in the Southern Water Tribe. Things would be different. That...would never have happened. But, you live here. We do. And we need to be strong. You and me, we're Water Tribe."

Roku hung his head.

"Don't ever be ashamed of that." Mother scolded him. She stood up. "You have to come to terms with it. It will be hard. That thing can and will happen again. Prejudice happens, and it will always be ingrained in our world. You are a Waterbender. You are the son of the Fire Lord. It's a contradictory thing, and people are scared by something so different."

"Do you mean repulsed?"

Something shook in her face, and Roku was almost sorry that he'd lashed out like that.

"Perhaps, Roku." She closed her eyes. "Perhaps."