What have I done? Did I truly make the right choice? This question had been haunting and tormenting Zuko ever since he betrayed his uncle. No. It was uncle betrayed you. This was what Azula had told him. Zuko still couldn't be sure. Uncle Iroh stood by Zuko when no one else did. He was the only one who cared about him. He was the only one who loved him. And Zuko betrayed him. Zuko's thoughts were shortly interrupted when a Dai Li agent walked in the door.
"Prince Zuko. Princess Azula has requested your presence in the Great Hall," he said.
"Tell the princess I will be with her shortly," Zuko replied. With that, the Dai Li agent walked out of the room, leaving Zuko standing alone in the Earth King's bedroom. Zuko stepped over to the mirror and looked at himself. He was dressed in royal Fire Nation clothing, with his topknot back in place and a crown on top of his head. Is this really my destiny? Zuko wondered this to himself. Without uttering a world, he walked out of the room and made his way to the Great Hall.
"Good evening, Prince Zuko" Azula said to her brother as he walked into the hall. Her companions, Ty Lee and Mai, accompanied her.
"Zuko! It's so good to see you!" Ty Lee shouted, running over to Zuko and wrapping with one of her strong, inescapable hugs.
"Hello, Ty Lee," Zuko said while struggling to get out of her grasp. When he finally managed to escape, Mai walked over to greet him.
"Nice to see you Zuko. It's been a while," she said shyly. Ty Lee gave her a strange look. She was never shy like that.
"Three years," Zuko said half-bitterly. "Good to see you to Mai,"
"This is all so sweet," said Azula, causing all three of them to turn in Azula's direction. "But this cute little reunion is not why I called you here. Zuko, I was hoping you could escort our traitor of an uncle to his prison cell," Azula had a devilish twinkle in her eye. After hesitation, Zuko finally answered.
"I'll do it," he said
"Very well," said Azula. "He's waiting in the hallway with some guards." Zuko turned and walked the other way. Halfway to the end of the Great Hall, Azula shouted out to.
"Of course, Dai Li agents will follow you to make sure you are safe."
"What, You don't trust me?" Zuko said smirking. Azula didn't even respond to his question a subtle look of fury in her golden eyes. Zuko walked the rest of the hall and out to find two Dai Li agents and his uncle.
Iroh refused to look at his nephew. Suddenly, Zuko felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Whether it was shame, disgust, or a combination of both, he did not know. Nevertheless, he silently signaled the guards to start moving. When he reached the prison cells, he realized that all the cells were full.
"Um, excuse me Prince Zuko," a Dai Li agent said.
"What is it?" asked Zuko.
"Azula said that if all of the cells were full, you should take the Kyoshi warrior out and put your uncle in."
"Very well," said Zuko. "Open the cell." As they were told, the guards opened the cell and pulled out a warrior from the cell. She was dressed in a green robe, and wearing white makeup with red streaks by her eyes.
"What's going on?" Suki demanded. Her question was ignored, and she was practically dragged through the hallways, struggling all the way.
"I see the cells were full," Azula said, "At least you managed to get the job done. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to talk with Ty Lee and Mai for a minute. I would like you to guard this prisoner" The three young women walked back out into the hallway, leaving Zuko alone with the chained warrior. Zuko sat down on the Earth King's throne and began to sort out his feelings. After a short while, the prince began feeling drowsy, and soon enough he slipped in to a deep sleep.
"What is it Azula?" Questioned Ty Lee as they made it into the hallway. "And why can't Zuko hear it?"
"Well, we needed someone to watch that warrior peasant while we planned," Azula responded.
"Planned what?" Mai asked.
"What do with the warrior girl," Azula said cold-heartedly. "I plan to kill her."
"What!" Ty Lee exclaimed. "Isn't that sorta harsh?"
"You have a complaint?" Azula questioned harshly, sending a chill down Ty Lee's spine.
"Um, No," Ty Lee stammered. "It's just that she put up a really good fight and she didn't really do anything too bad."
"For Once, Ty Lee, you're actually right," Azula said lifting Ty Lee's spirits a bit. "She was a worthy fighter. She deserves a real execution ceremony." Ty Lee smile melted. Azula had completely ignored the last thing she said!
"I'll schedule it for two weeks from now," Azula said. "Thanks for the idea, Ty Lee." She began to walk in to the Great Hall, when she turned around to talk "Oh, by the way, make sure no one tries to rescue the warrior peasant. I'd feel sorry for anyone who would betray me."
"You have done well, Fire Lord Zuko," an icy blue dragon hissed as it circling him menacingly. Suddenly he saw the lifeless body of another dragon lying on the ground, this one vivid red. He suddenly saw a woman rush over and hold the body of the red dragon."
"Mother!" the Fire Lord shouted.
"Why Zuko? I loved you. How could you do this?" Then the dragon and the woman began to fade away.
"Do not listen to her, Fire Lord Zuko," the dragon hissed again as it circled dangerously close to Zuko. "You have chosen your destiny." The dragon drew back in front of the Fire Lord, showing its soulless golden eyes. Then it snapped in the direction of Zuko and struck.
"AAAHHH!!!"
He bolted up in the throne to be greeted by the angry face of his sister.
"Zuzu. Have you fallen asleep?" Azula said, concealing her fury. "Did I not specifically tell you to watch the prisoner?"
"Don't talk to me like that!" Zuko shouted. "I'm just as much head of this kingdom as you are!" Following this, Azula called the Dai Li to her.
"I don't think so, Zuzu," Azula said. "Now, why don't you go back to your room. I have no use for you at the moment." Zuko angrily walked away and headed back to his room. "Mai. Ty Lee. I would like you to head back to your rooms as well. And bring the warrior back to her cell. There's room for two." The two girls followed Zuko and left the Great Hall. However when they exited, Mai stopped dead in her tracks and pulled Ty Lee to the wall to listen to what Azula was saying.
"Guards. Fetch Long Feng for me." Azula commanded.
"As you wish, my princess." The guard responded, and left to find him. Shortly after a middle-aged man in long green robes entered the room.
"What do you wish, Princess?" Long Feng asked, bowing down before her.
"Zuko is a threat to our power." Said Azula "His incompetence will be my demise. I want him dead."
"But Azula," Long Feng said. "I thought you said you would spare his life after seeing his abilities in the Catacombs."
"Things have changed," Azula said sharply. "Now, if you value your own life, I suggest you see to his demise. But for now, you are dismissed."
The guard turned to leave, and began walking when Azula spoke up.
"Oh, I forgot to mention. Keep an eye on Ty Lee and Mai. They seem to be losing loyalty for me. They might need the Prince Zuko treatment as well."
"Very Well, Princess," said Long Feng as he proceeded to walk out the door, not seeing the traumatized faces of Ty Lee and Mai.
Later that night, Ty Lee was frantic, while Mai was broken up on the inside. They did not know what to do. They have been with Azula for years; however, they also could not believe what she was willing to do to her own brother.
"I-I can't believe it," Ty Lee said, pacing across the floor. "All this time with her. We were her best friends. Now she would be willing to kill us if necessary. I should have known after what she did at the circus." Ty Lee then proceeded to tell Mai about what Azula did to convince her to join her team. "The truth is, the whole reason I escaped to the circus in the first place, was to get away from Azula.
"And what about Zuko! She is going to have her own brother murdered! Azula is a cold-hearted, vicious, evil, witch. We can't just keep ignoring it. Azula must go down!" She gazed down at Mai, waiting for her response.
"Finally, you understand the situation," Mai said solemnly.
Zuko was injured. Everything around was utter chaos chaos. He saw the corpses of the Avatar's friends. A wounded Ty Lee was spurting blood. Worst of all, he could see Mai, lying on the ground, unloving, the only thing in the area still standing was a throne, on top of which was Fire Lady Azula. Zuko wanted to die. He wished he had never been born at all. Out of the ashes rose a boy with arrow tattoos. The avatar then sighed in shame and spoke.
"This is all your fault."
Zuko's eyes shot open, sweat dripping from his brow. Thank God it was just a dream. He suddenly heard a knock at his door.
"Who is it?" Zuko yelled. The door swung open, revealing Mai and Ty Lee.
"What do you-" Zuko said, until he was cut short by Mai.
"Zuko, you have to get out of here!" Mai exclaimed as quietly as possible. "Azula is going to have you killed!"
"What are you talking about?" Zuko asked.
"Azula knows you're the Blue Spirit." Ty Lee said. Zuko's eyes widened.
"But what about Uncle?" questioned Zuko.
"We will rescue him," Mai said. "Then we will join up with you on your escape."
"How do I know I can trust you?" asked Zuko angrily. Suddenly Mai pulled Zuko into her arms and kissed him on the mouth.
"So, do you trust us?" Mai asked in a tone completely unlike her. It was a tone of compassion, emotion, and love.
"Okay, I trust you." Zuko said smirking, trying to conceal his smile. He had just been kissed. He had just been kissed by Mai.
"Well Zuko should be going, don't you think Mai?" Ty Lee said.
"Yeah. Probably," Mai said sadly. "Good Luck, Zuko."
"Thank you. Oh, and be safe." Zuko said. Unable to hold themselves any longer, they flung themselves into each other's arms and pressed their bodies together for one last passionate kiss. Whether it lasted minutes, hours, or days, Zuko may never know. One thing was for sure though. Zuko's life had changed forever.