Finding a Mother
Chapter Six
After Hakoda had finished telling everyone what Zuko had told him only the night before, everyone sat in silence, now fully understanding the prince's motives. Katara could tell that Aang, Sokka, Toph and Suki all had sympathetic looks on their faces. Katara turned away. She would feel no sympathy for the Fire Lord's son, who chased them all around the world and betrayed her in Ba Sing Se. But then again, it wasn't really his fault. He had spoken out for those people, and he was cruelly punished for it. Wouldn't anybody do what Zuko had done if they were in his position?
No! Katara told herself. No they wouldn't. He was a fool for thinking that his father would love him if he captured Aang!
"Zuko?" Ursa walked past every tree that was in the forest looking for her son. Zuko had left in a fairly angry state after the truth had been revealed.
"Zuko, please!" she shouted. Finally, she found him sitting beneath a tree branch, getting some shade. He was toying with his knife.
"Zuko…"
"I don't feel like talking." Zuko sighed. "I don't want your pity. I don't want anyone's pity."
"Apparently not," Ursa sat besides her son. "Instead, you'd rather have them to think that you are heartless, just like your father. Zuko, your past is nothing to be ashamed of, and it's okay to be bothered by it. I can't even imagine the pain you felt."
"Mom…"
"If you want to talk about it, don't be afr—"
"Mom!" Zuko stopped her. "If you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly the innocent and lovable little boy you left behind."
"Oh really?" Ursa asked. "Well, I can change that." She put her arm around Zuko's shoulder.
"Now, if only we had some turtle-ducks."
Zuko smiled.
The Warden growled as he rode in a tram back to the Boiling Rock, along with two other guards, who had found him.
"Sir, we need to tell you something."
"What?"
"Princess Azula has ordered for the arrest of your niece and her friend."
"What is the meaning of this?" The Warden demanded, furious as he grabbed the guard by the neck.
"For treason." The guard replied, terrified. The tram stopped at the prison and the Warden stepped out to be greeted by two more guards. However, the furious man grabbed one of them and hurled them over the railing into the boiling lake.
"What did she do?!" he demanded.
"Sir, Princess Azula will tell you about it."
Azula leaned against the wall as the Warden entered the interrogation room. Mai, in prison garb, sat cuffed to the chair.
"What did my niece do that classifies as treason?" he asked Azula, who seemed to be on the verge of killing every guard in the prison.
"She helped my brother escape!" She shouted, letting loose a torrent of blue fire. "If it weren't for her, your command to cut the line would have been done! She incapacitated all the guards that were cutting the lines!"
The Warden turned to his niece.
"You know how I feel about this prison's record of being inescapable!" he circled the chair.
"Yes." was Mai's reply.
"Then why did you do it?" he kicked the chair over in a fit of rage, just like he had done with Chit Sang.
"Because…" Mai started. "I love Zuko."
The Warden stopped fuming. So, that was what this was all about. Somehow, he couldn't be angry with his niece.
"Very well," the Warden replied. He gestured for the guards to let her free from the chair. They did so, and handcuffed Mai's hands behind her back.
"However, it is not my decision." He told his niece. "Your punishment will be left up to Princess Azula."
"I already told my father." Azula straightened up a bit; however, there was still a look of insanity in her eye.
"What does the Fire Lord demand?"
"He's no longer the Fire Lord." Azula grinned. "I am. My father will be crowning himself Phoenix Lord in a couple of weeks. I am up to her punishment."
"What is her punishment?" The Warden could feel sweat pour down his face.
"She is sentenced to…death."
END CHAPTER