Finding a Mother
Chapter Nine
After Appa landed, everyone helped put up camp, except for Zuko, who sat underneath a tree, not really understanding his feelings over Mai's death. He felt like he was going to burst out into devastated sobs, but he didn't. He suddenly looked up when he could sense someone standing besides him. It was the scowling face of Katara.
"What do you want?" he asked. "Come to kick me when I'm down?"
"Zuko, you're always down." She tried to be angry with him, but she just couldn't. She had always forced herself to believe that everybody from the Fire Nation was responsible for her mother's death, but here she saw the Fire Nation prince, who also had his mother taken away from him. There was just one difference: Katara's mother was dead, while Zuko went six years without knowing if his mother was dead, or alive as a starving beggar on the streets. Then he had also been cruelly punished for having compassion and on top of it, now his girlfriend was dead. He had been through a lot. Then it suddenly hit her: in Ba Sing Se, why he had joined Azula. That look Azula gave him! She had promised him everything that had been taken away from him. She had promised that Zuko would get it back if he helped her.
"Listen Zuko," she began. "Aang and Sokka wanted me to tell you that they're sorry about Mai."
"Oh." Zuko looked down. "Well, tell them thanks for me."
"Wait…"
"What?"
"I'm sorry too."
"Why are you sorry?"
"I was so mean to you, when I really had no idea what you had been through. I always thought that Sokka and I had it bad, but I refused to believe that anyone from the Fire Nation could have it worse than we did."
"Oh, well thanks."
"I always thought that the Fire Nation royal family was terrible people." Katara said. "You proved me wrong." She smiled.
"Zuko, wake up!" Zuko awoke the next morning to find Aang shaking him awake.
"What is it?" Zuko asked. "Are we under attack?"
"No silly." Aang laughed. "Look who's here."
Zuko looked up, and his jaw dropped in shock. Around the camp were hundreds of warriors, including Piandao, Master Pakku, Chief Arnook, Smellerbee, Longshot, Jeong Jeong, Chey, Gansu, Sela and even…
"Uncle!"
END CHAPTER